Blurred Vision
- Richard Selke
- Feb 11
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 11
February 12, 2025
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I first noticed something was wrong when I looked down into my plate and saw large black worms crawling around in my French fries! Susan and I had just finished hiking in the mountains outside of Glenwood Springs, Colorado and we had stopped at a diner for lunch.
I quickly realized that these weren’t worms at all but floaters in my right eye, larger and more numerous than I’d ever seen before. By the time we returned home to Houston, my sight had deteriorated to a background of medium gray with darker spots strangely resembling the amoebas and paramecia we used to view under our microscopes in high school biology lab. Other than that, I couldn’t see a thing out of that eye.
I called my eye doctor, Jeff Arnoult. Jeff was out of town, but his assistant insisted that I come in at once. I was examined and diagnosed: I had a detached retina and would be having surgery within the next twenty-four hours. This was a matter of extreme urgency, and if it was not addressed immediately, I would permanently lose my sight. Dr. Lindsey Harris, a brilliant eye surgeon, performed the procedure.
Five years later, the retina in my left eye detached. I bounced high into the air and landed hard on the surface of the water while tubing behind my son-in-law's boat on Possum Kingdom Lake. Tubing was an absolute blast; the outcome, not so great. The worms, amoebas and paramecia were back! I knew exactly what had happened, so I called Dr. Harris and had the same surgery immediately.
Both times, Lindsey Harris rescued me from permanent blindness by reattaching my torn retinas. And over time, my sight was restored. I went from being totally blind to partially blind to seeing clearly.
It took six months for me to fully recover my sight from the first surgery and ten months from the second. Today I have 20/20 vision (corrected.) But I have to work on it. If I don’t, I will go blind. I have to do a litany of activities to maintain my vision: daily eye drops, ongoing eye exams, periodic tests and, of course, prescription lenses. I want to see clearly.
But what about spiritual vision?
My experiences with temporary blindness and the healing process that followed remind me of the Bible story of Jesus healing the blind man:
“They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him [Jesus] and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Can you see anything?’ And the man looked up and said, ‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he looked intently, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” Mark 8:22-25, NRSV
Jesus Christ is the Great Physician and Healer. His healing the blind man was a miracle. He healed the blind man directly and relatively quickly. He healed me through Lindsey and Jeff over time. Both healings came from God.
Just as I don’t want to be physically blind, I don’t want to be spiritually blind either. And just as I must maintain my physical regimen daily, we all need a daily regimen to ensure that we maintain our spiritual clarity. That means reading the Bible, attending church, remaining in Christian community, following spiritual leaders we trust and - most importantly - keeping our eyes on Jesus.
One of the first things we see quite clearly when we become Christians is our sinful human nature. Our fallenness affects our ability to see clearly. It’s easy to conclude that we see all things as they truly are. In reality, our vision may not be as good as we think it is. Instead of judging our vision by our own human standards, if we test our vision according to God’s intended design, we may discover blind spots, blurred vision and a distorted perspective.
The first step in the blind man’s healing was when Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of his village – he removed him from his world. Up to that point, he had not had Jesus in his life and he’d been in Bethsaida. That sounds familiar, similar to our human condition before we meet Christ. We don’t know Him, we’re in the world and we’re blind.
Just as my vision wasn’t fully restored all at once, neither did Jesus fully restore the blind man’s sight immediately. The man knew that he couldn’t see clearly and he put some effort into his own healing – he “stared intently.” Jesus and the blind man worked together until he could see “everything clearly.”
Alone in the world without Christ, our fallenness makes us believe that our vision is clear; whereas, in reality, we have blurred vision. When we first let Jesus into our lives, He begins to help us to see things more clearly. But our seeing everything clearly doesn’t happen instantaneously. It’s a process that requires discipline as Christ works in us to change us. As we allow him to do His work in us and as we participate with Him by trying “intently” to see, we will gradually come to see things as they truly are – as God sees them – and we will see “everything clearly.”
Praise the Lord!
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, we intently participate with Jesus in seeing everything clearly!
QUESTIONS
Do you see everything clearly? Do you have blurred vision or blind spots? What are you going to do about it?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the World. We confess that our vision is often blurred by our own limited understanding, our pride and our sin. Open our eyes so that we may see clearly. Remove our blind spots and reveal Your truth to us. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on You every day so that we may grow in wisdom and faith. Thank You for being our Healer, our Guide and our Savior.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
Thanks for the boost. I pray for more clarity and the effort to do so.🙂