Recently on social medial I asked the following question: What do you see? I was born with my visual problem but it has worsened over time. Imagine spending most of your life thinking you were born with a birth defect to both your optic nerves, and according to doctors, I was. However, the doctor said it would not get worse. He said as I naturally aged they would be able to get it back to my “normal”. (I guess with glasses. ) His theory was wrong. The struggle is real. I haven’t been to the eye doctor in years because it’s a waste of my time. Other than five eyelid surgeries, they have never been able to help at all. (I discovered later that one procedure was not even appropriate.) I am a slow reader and the font has to be zoomed in large. I see some of the letters in a word but not all of them. I recognize people by shape, size and hair color. Lighting is important because it helps me to see whats there. It is a very odd thing and no doctor has ever tried to figure it out.
Last Sunday I went to Central Church with a good friend. Central is “home”. It’s where I can actively participate in worship and understand the message through a sign language interpreter. (Why other churches don’t offer this, I’ll never understand.). Yes, for those who might be reading my blog for the first time, I’m also hearing impaired. Back to my question…. I mentioned possibly blogging on the topic but also shared pieces of this to gleam some feedback. My friend was telling me the expressions on faces on the stage. We were sitting in the first pew. I can see Pastor but not his face details. She could “see” he is burdened for the church. Wow! I mean I’m sure he is but to be able to “see” it on his face. Wow! She could “see” that one of the guys playing an instrument was truly moved by the worship and was “holding back” tears. Oh to be able to “see” those precious things. I am thankful for the descriptions. I know hearing impaired people put more into reading facial expressions because it conveys true meaning. So if you can hear maybe you look for or “see” different things.
The feedback was interesting. Unless you see me read, you might never realize that I’m not seeing like you. It’s not obvious. Even people who know me well have a tendency to forget. I think the post made a few people appreciate things they take for granted. My cousin who suffered ocular seizures a while back shared one eye is fuzzy, but the other he can see expressions. Another friend said she can see the expressions and hear the emotion in voices. Another friend suggested I use live-streaming on my iPad while at church so I could take a quick look, zoomed in to see. (I’d never do that. Never want to be a distraction to others.) People were encouraging. One mentioned the spiritual “sight” of discernment. I praise God that He has given me that. I guess that brings us to another form of “seeing”.
Spiritual insight and discernment are also ways the Holy Spirit enables us to “see” and test what’s going on around us. I love to tune in to the Holy Spirit and seek His direction on whatever is at hand. I guess because I don’t hear it all and definitely don’t see it all, what I do “get”, I ponder. I’m a deep soul. I think deeply on things and often pray over them. I see people and their personalities at play. I see how we can “walk in the flesh” sometimes unintentionally. We have to ask the Lord to examine our hearts and our lives. We need to ask for forgiveness and make changes to walk surrendered to the Lord. When I notice conflicts, I see personalities and attitudes at play. I see how people approach and deal with issues. I sense spiritual elements at work behind situations. There is so much to see/discern and so much to cover in prayer.
I’ve come to notice that people have no clue what you’re going through. (And that is okay) I personally “stumbled” upon deep empathy years ago. As I was dealing with hearing and vision issues, I became way more sensitive to any need around me I also became sensitive to how people respond to those needs. People are so unique, each with their own story that has molded them into who they are. When you see conflicts, someone withdrawn, etc. think of the underlying issues that might be at work. This type of perspective can bring a healthy peaceful shift in situations. Just something to think about.
Well, that was a “deep dive” and it’s time to come back to the “surface”. I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Be mindful of differences and little things you can do for those around you. Be blessed and better yet, be a blessing!
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