From dark to light

Part of June and July, my father was admitted into the VA’s blind unit here in our hometown. This was my father’s second trip to the rehab. His first trip to the rehab was around fifteen years ago when he first lost his sight. The losing of his sight was very hard for him. I could only imagine what it is and what is was like to be in the dark. But my dad is very strong and he is a real bulldog. He has fought very hard to carve out a life full of service, meaning, and direction. His eyes may not see light but He is a light that shines very bright!

Thinking about my daddy and watching him fight not to stay in the “dark” made me think about spiritual darkness. In the dark there is a certain level of fear. You don’t have to be blind to know that…just be at my house in the country at night during a thunderstorm! If you take a minute and think, going hand in hand with fear is confusion. When you can’t see and are afraid it is hard to take or find direction. I remember the first time my daddy was in the blind rehab unit. He was there for a month and on his graduation day the personnel loaded my family into a van and took us downtown. They took us, one at a time, and put a helmet on our head that was similar to a motorcycle helmet. The face guard was fixed somehow to replicate what my daddy saw with his loss of vision. After putting on the helmet, they gave us the blind walking stick and put us out of the van onto the sidewalk and instructed us to walk down the block. I remember this experience…it was life changing! I was overcome with a mix of many emotions. My heart broke for my daddy but on the other hand being aware of all that he had learned to do, despite his handicap, made me immensely proud. But the fears that grip me were suffocating. I remember walking down the street and after a few steps felt my heart beating fast and it got harder and harder to breathe. My sense of direction was totally gone and so was my feeling of balance. There was a feeling of total confusion…am I walking down the middle of the sidewalk or getting too close to the buildings or the curb? Am I going in the same direction I started in or am I turned around? My feet felt every crack and unevenness of the pavement and I found myself stumbling around. And then there were the sounds…could it be that we are so busy with our eyes that we don’t really hear? Everything sounded different and it was hard to figure out exactly what I was hearing. That just added to the confusion…I remember hearing a car honk it horn and panic rushed over me because I couldn’t see if I was in danger. I was never so glad to get that helmet off and be back in “the light”!

Spiritual darkness is just about everything that physical darkness is. It is fear, confusion, panic, and isolation. It colors your worldly balance, your decision making, your quality of life. And the most important, spiritual blindness leads you to death instead of eternal life! There was rehabilitation for my daddy’s blindness; a change of lifestyle, tips and also tricks that have enabled him to function as a sighted person. It has made life easier for him but there is no cure. But spiritual blindness is another matter…Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will NEVER walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12. Boy, that sounds like a cure to me!  Jesus promises you will never walk in darkness again.

So what is going on here!? There is a cure for blindness…spiritual blindness. That would be Jesus. He and the Holy Spirit are our light. They bring us out of the darkness into the light and cast out fear, confusion, our stumbling, and point us in the right direction. The Lord our God who created all of the universe promises to hold our hand and open our blind eyes…there is no reason to fear. This is what God the LORD says - He Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, Who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 'I, the LORD , have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind,” … Isaiah 42:5-9.  Light points us in the right direction and takes away our confusion. With our blindness gone God can open our eyes to see Him and see his path for us… Once more Jesus put His hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:25.
I am so thankful that there has been help for my daddy’s blindness and do so many wonderful things in the last 15 plus years. But I am even more grateful that I have a Father in heaven that has given us ALL a cure for spiritual blindness, has brought us into the light so that we can see his glory forever and ever!
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.  Psalm 27:4