"It was like opening a door and going into heaven. I could see. Everything wasn't a blur."— a quote from my aunt upon getting her first pair of glasses.
I had a very similar experience. After a four-hour drive in the rain, with my sister on the passenger side of my car she declared, "I am going to buy you something when we get to our destination. Windshield wipers!"
It was something I knew I needed to do, but since the driver's side of the car was okay, I procrastinated. The need for windshield wipers is something you don't tend to think about when the sun is shining.
What I wasn't prepared for was the difference a new windshield wiper on the driver's side of the car would make. I was like a kid with a new toy. Each and every time I turned on the wipers, a small thrill of appreciation and excitement coursed through me as I saw the world in a whole new light.
My aunt experienced a similar, but more profound, difference in her world when she got glasses. She could see the individual leaves on a tree. Life was in sharp focus for the first time in her life. I experience a similar elation every time I wash my glasses.
Life is full of such moments of clarity.
Little, everyday occurrences such as a blue sky after a long stretch of clouds and dreary weather. The joy one can feel when on the receiving end of a cheery greeting from a child or stranger. Or simply a new view after washing a window.
Then there are life-changing events when you start to see the world with a renewed perspective. Discovering one's true calling or faith. Finding yourself on the outside, looking in, after a negative experience. Or finding contentment within a relationship.
As much as I enjoy clean windows and a perfectly clear vision of the day before me, I couldn't help but think of the bird that swooped in towards our kitchen window the other day. A little dirt on our window may have saved his life. Or at the very least, a real nasty headache.
Sometimes we need a little obscured vision to help guide us through a tragedy one step at a time. To see and feel everything crisply when our lives have been uprooted is not what we want or need at that time.
It is important to see clearly to avoid some of life's potholes. But when a person finds themselves in a spot where they didn't choose to be, a little fog may be just what you need to feel your way through for a few miles.
When the fog lifts, we can appreciate the crisp clean view of the road ahead. There is nothing like a little obscured vision to help you appreciate seeing clearly once again.
