Before I was brave enough to have Lasik eye surgery, upgrading my corrective lenses involved more than the optometrist getting my prescription right. Overshadowing the entire event was the gigantic decision of picking out new frames. This is especially stressful for women, since eyeglasses not only cost an arm and a leg, they have to match our entire wardrobe for the next two+ years. Simply put, they are perhaps the most difficult fashion statement we make.

For more years than I care to count, I wore eyeglasses on my face. I tried wearing contact lenses of every kind, but for whatever reason, they did not work for me. On this day I picked up the new eyeglasses at the optometrist’s office that I had ordered a few days before. I had been careful to pick out frames of the latest style and was confident they would look great on me. So I thought. Yet I caught myself looking in the rearview mirror repeatedly during the drive home.

I was anxious for my family to see the new glasses thinking they would relieve my concerns. As expected, they all assured me that these new frames were perfect for me. Unsatisfied with their response, I kept asking them the one crucial question: “Do they make me look younger?”

“Of course they do,” they said in unison.

But the jury was still out as far as I was concerned, and for the next few days I grappled with the issue. “I don’t think I like these new glasses after all,” I boldly said. My words were met with opposition from my family, which resulted in more trips to the bathroom for more glances in the mirror.

Finally I caught it—these new glasses actually made me look older! When I announced this discovery to my family, they acted as if I had lost my mind. Yet in my heart of hearts, I knew it was true—I looked older. I began to think about how I could solve the problem. Perhaps the optometrist would be compassionate and let me exchange the glasses for another pair, for a small fee of course.

Then the light bulb came on. Hello! I didn’t look older to anyone but me, and I looked older to me because I could now see myself clearly. With these new upgraded lenses I could see all the wrinkles that had not been visible to me before. My wrinkles had been in clear view of everyone else all the time; it was just now that I could see them too!

This experience reminds me of the times in my life when my spiritual eyes were enhanced to see things the way God sees them. God’s Word is like upgraded lenses—it helps me see the real me, the wrinkles in my character, my attitudes, and my actions. Sometimes what I see is not a pretty picture. I like to think those unwanted wrinkles are hidden from those around me; but the truth is, they are in clear view of all who watch my life—God included.

As you and I seek to have a deeper walk with God, are we willing to put on upgraded spiritual lenses? In so doing we might see some things that have actually been there all along but just not in clear view to us. If God chooses to lead us out of our comfort zone of beliefs, are we willing to go with Him? God’s chosen people believed a Redeemer would come, and He did. But because Jesus didn’t fit their preconceived ideas of what a Redeemer should look like, many of them missed Him.

Just as upgraded lenses are costly, new spiritual lenses could cost me my pride, my prejudices, my preferences, or even my preconceived ideas. Yet, if they will help my spiritual perception, I’m going to take a chance and ask God for them. You see, the one thing I don’t want to take a chance on is missing Jesus!   ~Janie Kellogg