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at the risk of appearing really, really stupid, i feel a need to comment about blind spots tonight. not my own, of course. to write about my own would presume i know what my blind spots are. and that is a false presumption!
so i’ll write about the ones other people have.
one of the great privileges i have is to be drawn into the messes of people’s lives. and by default, they are drawn into the mess of mine.
i so wish people could see what i see. the problems they have are not insurmountable. the character issues they wrestle with are redeemable. the feelings of hopelessness are anything but hopeless. the sins can be forgiven. the discouragement they feel can be replaced with confidence…the emptiness, with resolve.
worry, fear, anger, ambivalence, disengagement, indifference, resentment, antagonism…all do the same thing. they close off our vision. they create emotional periscopes…the narrow lenses we use to peer around the corners of our messes and try to view our lives and situations from.
but those lenses always obscure the big picture.
and those are the blind spots in our lives.
so when we lose sight of the big picture of our lives…and the lives of those we walk closest to…the inevitable outcome is a form of extreme self-centeredness. we get consumed with ourselves. we may say we are thinking of others, but in those situations, the blind spot can overtake us…and we are anything but benevolent.
and make no mistake: it’s virtually impossible to recognize. that’s why they call it a blind spot.
in my life, when i have found myself paralyzed by irrational thoughts and feelings…and my world was controlled by my own blindness…trust had to win out.
trust…in the wisdom of others who could see my situation with greater clarity and could speak truth when i couldn’t see it. or didn’t want to hear it.
trust…that obedience to god’s commands carried greater good for me (and those around me) than i could ever manufacture with my own puny ideas for what would be best.
trust…that god’s kingdom and god’s reputation and god’s holiness far outweighed my happiness or my plans for my future.
so how are you dealing with your blind spots?
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