November 20, 2023
“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message
It’s odd to try and adjust after the first cataract surgery. My new right lens gives me 20/20 distance vision. However, reading and working on the computer difficult is a temporary struggle. Using a pair of reading glasses helps but doesn’t take care of the astigmatism in both eyes. I am betwixt and between and have a new appreciation of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13:12. “We don’t yet see things clearly. We are squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.”
A friend and I hiked to Kennedy Lookout on Friday, our second time to the top. The first time, bad weather started blowing in when we were about two-thirds of the way to the top. We hustled to get to the protection of the lookout tower and spent about an hour waiting for the storm to blow itself out. We did not get a clear view of the valley and the South Branch of the Shenandoah River.
This time around, there was no threat of rain, but smoke from wildfires to the south and west obscured the view. It was as if we were “squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.” There were hills to the west, bends in the river, and the bright green of winter wheat in the fields, but all we could see was the smoky sky. Maybe the third time will be the charm.
I look forward to that hike, even as I look forward to having the cataract surgeries behind me, and the right corrective lenses in a new pair of glasses. But even that vision pales in comparison to what you and I, “will behold when we see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!”
Thanks, God, for a tiny little glimpse of what heaven will be like. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 