Improved Purple Vision

Currently I'm studying Psalm 119 with several ladies from my church. We're going through the psalm verse by verse with an emphasis each day on one or two words. I'm sure it was a challenge for the writer of the study to pick out just one or two words for each day! I look at the group of 8 verses that we're to study each week and circle the words that really stand out to me and sometimes our lists match! This week, I did pick one of the same words our writer chose. It was the first word of verse 18: "Open" as in "Open my eyes". Open in this verse is the Hebrew word, "Galah" (Strong's #1540) meaning,"To uncover or remove". It's not like simply parting my eye lids; it's the unveiling of something that has been covering my eyes- much like the removal of a cataract.

According to the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIE/NIH), a cataract is, "a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision." But the next few words of the definition really hit me: "Most cataracts are related to aging". I guess we all struggle with aging, some (my husband) more than others! But it seemed interesting to me to ponder this association of clouded vision with aging. You'd think that the older we get, the clearer our vision of God and his word and love would be but, you know, I believe that our spiritual eyes are just as at risk for developing cataracts as we age as our physical eyes.

According to the NIE/NIH, cataracts related to aging are caused by the proteins that make up our lenses clumping together. When the proteins clump together, they reduce the amount of light that hits the retina causing vision to become blurry. They can also cause the lens to darken and turn a brownish tint. This brownish coloring of the lens can hinder our ability to differntiate color - especially purples and blues. Things we do to ourselves that are hard on our eyes, like smoking, or illnesses, like diabetes or simply the stresses of daily life- every day wear and tear can cause clumping of those proteins. And there are other causes of cataracts that don't have anything to do with aging. Things like trauma, or things that were supposed to help us like surgery or medications. We can be born with cataracts or we can acquire them from radiation therapy for treatment of cancer.

Maybe it's just me but it seems like all of those things can cause spiritual cataracts just as easily. Maybe an illness or relentless struggle can cause us to see God as brutal or uncaring. Maybe a traumatic past can cause a skewed vision of God's word as meaningless or empty. Perhaps "helpful" words from fellow Christians or even respected pastors can cause deep pain that cloud our vision of the church as untrustworthy or even vicious. Situations we are born into, or marry into, or move into can harden our hearts and prevent us from seeing God clearly. I believe it would require a very introspective and humble spirit for a person to have the where-with-all to ask God to remove these kinds of cataracts. I believe we hold onto them with all our strength if we're concious of their presence at all. But the psalmist does, indeed, ask.
I'm getting old. It's true. And along with getting old, I believe I'm at fairly high risk for developing cataracts. Although I may have some of the cataracts posed above, I believe my cataracts are of the simple aging variety. They're the daily wear and tear of a stress filled life that doesn't have time to spend reflecting on the word of God. That daily grind has clumped all the proteins of my lens til I view God through a hazy mist. The darkened tint prevents me from seeing the glory and majesty of a God who desires so deeply for me to know Him. The Light simply isn't getting through. He's something important, I can tell that. But honestly, He comes off a utilitarian shade of khaki instead of the vibrant purples of royalty.

The good news is that cataracts can be removed. Both of my parents have had cataract surgery and it's been quite successful. Ninety per cent of people who have cataract surgery have improved vision afterward (National Eye Institute, "Facts About Cataracts"). The thing is, you have to ask for the surgery, just as the psalmist does in 119:18. It seems to me that if I ask for my cataracts to be removed, God would be fairly pleased to flufill that request. Just as I'm sure He was pleased when the psalmist asked the same. And I fully expect to start seeing much more purple than khaki!

"Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your miracle wonders"

- The Message

Dog Bones, Banana Peels, and Radio Announcers

Yesterday morning on the way to work (very, very early in the morning) I heard an advertisement on WMHK. The announcer was proclaiming how God so often says exactly what you need to hear at just the right time, and how sometimes he even uses the medium of radio to do so. Then, of course, he proceeded to ask for money for the station. After I pulled into my spot in the parking garage, I picked up my Message to briefly read through the Psalm we are going to study this week for our Sunday School lesson. And here I am again, reading something I swear I've never read before but knowing that I have to have read it before because I've read all of the book of Psalms more than once!

It was Psalm 37. Maybe it was that I had never read it in The Message before, because when I read it in the NIV last night, it was very familiar. But reading it in The Message shed a whole new light on it and I knew right away that it was God, saying exactly what I needed to hear, at exactly the right time- just like the radio announcer said.

Psalm 37 talks a lot about how the righteous will fare in life, compared to the wicked. I've always believed "the wicked" were those people who intentionally do evil things. You know the type: they're the super villains in the super hero stories- General Zod, The Joker, Emperor Palpatine. They're the people in horror or suspense movies, like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. They're the meanies on the news who kidnap children or beat up old ladies. But that doesn't really fit the description of "wicked" that God uses. The Hebrew word used most in Psalm 37 for "wicked" is "rasha", meaning:

1. wicked, criminal
a. guilty one, one guilty of crime
b. wicked (hostile to God)
c. wicked, guilty of sin (against God or man)

Hmmm. Now who, exactly, does that last bit sound like? You? Me? The people I interact with day in and day out? That's why when Eugene Peterson translates wicked in The Message, he uses words like "braggart" and "those who climb the ladder", and "bullies". People who are self-focused and self-made. Self-centered and self-sufficient. Scary, huh? They sound like the people we work with, work for, live with, socialize with, and possibly, the people we are.

I'm not always perfect, not even close. But I know that more than anything, I want to keep company with God.
I want him to validate my life in the clear light of day.
I want to be God strong. To be happy while he holds my hand tightly, lest I stumble and fall.
I want to turn my back on evil and work for good.
To walk in step with God, close enough to hear his breath and his heartbeat.

The psalmist says that people like that chew on God's word like a dog chews on a bone. What a word picture there! Have you watched a dog chew on a bone? Dogs can chew on a bone for hours on end. Even when it looks like there's nothing left worth chewing on, they keep at it. It looks like they're not making any progress, hours and hours of chewing and the bone still looks the same. But eventually, one day it's devoured. Determination. Fascination. Obsession. Who knows? But try to take a bone from an enamored dog and you just may lose your hand. That's the way I'm to be with God's word. Possessive. Obsessive. Non-stop fascination.

And who knows? Just maybe I'll reap a few benefits along the way... say, maybe, a little less fretting, a spacious, free life, happiness at being held when the way gets a little rocky. And maybe even get to catch a glimpse of some bully slipping on the proverbial banana peel!

Ecclesiastes 8:1 Lesson

So the evening was going just fine. My three beautiful and talented children were starting to wind down for the night when the youngest decided she wanted to sing for me. It was beautiful. I've always been a sucker for family music time so I egged her on and with very little coaxing, she sang for me again. Then we called her brother down and he picked up the fiddle solo in the song. The 3 minute before-bed-serenade became a 45 minute family concert and my heart was filled to overflowing with pride. Then somewhere the bottom fell out and there were tears and screams and doors slamming. Where did I go wrong?

In total desperation and angst, with tears streaming down my own cheeks, I grabbed my computer and typed "help raising children john rosemond" in the google search box. The computer churned for a moment and then, with a sigh of helplessness, went blank. The problem was apparently even too much for a computer! Now what!?! Am I to be left totally helpless in this situation? Is even my computer going to turn its back on me?

Rod came home from the gym and did his best to cheer me up (with faint screams still echoing in the distance) and something he said reminded me of something I'd been studying in Daniel- something about why we act the way we do; about how the world holds us in a self-serving, self-centered, "friendly captivity" that causes us to say, "I am the only one; there is no other but me."(Isaiah 47:10) There was my parenting tip. There was my wise counsel. Not in my computer. Not something written by some mere human parenting guru. It was wisdom of the wisest sort. The very words of God- the greatest parenting guru of all!

One of these days I'll learn. And if my kids are going to survive, sooner would be better!

There's nothing better than being wise, Knowing how to interpret the meaning of life.
Wisdom puts light in the eyes,
And gives gentleness to words and manners.

-Ecclesiastes 8:1 (The Message)