Fog and Clarity

8/29/2008

I'm still busy harvesting and preserving the goodies from my garden. God blessed us abundantly with a wonderful harvest in spite of the terrible drought. I believe these efforts will pay off well in the months to come, considering the way prices are soaring.

Recently we celebrated my great nephew's 1st birthday. That was a lot of fun. My brother and his wife planned a party for all the kids, my niece has 4 kids and my nephew has 2 plus, us big kids joined in the fun as well. One of the games we played turned out to be a big hit with the adults. Pin the Tail on the Donkey. We all got a turn and I must say, it's a good thing that poor donkey wasn't real. When they spun my sister around they kept facing her the wrong direction, but she could not be fooled, she promptly turned back to face the donkey. None of us could figure it out until our turn rolled around and we discovered that the mask didn't fit tight and you could see a bit out each side. That didn't help though when it came to placing the tail in the right spot. We all had a great laugh, but it started me thinking about the importance of seeing clearly.

I remember several instances when seeing has been very important, more than a matter of mere convenience. There's the time my father went out to feed my horse after dark. The horse was corralled in a field here in critter patch. My mother insisted that dad take a flashlight out with him and it's a good thing, for my dad in his shorts and flip flops, barely dodged a Copper Head that was lying right where his next step would've been if the light had not fallen upon it in time.

It's not only important to have light, but you must also have clarity. Driving in fog was almost a disaster for my sister and I one day. We narrowly avoided slamming head on into a guard rail before we decided to abandon our quest for ice cream and go home to safety.

Light and clarity are great but mean little if you don't have the discernment to interpret what you see. One Monday morning my father and brother were leaving for work. It was a clear morning but had been raining all weekend. We lived way out in the woods and our little gravel road wound around for several miles and forced it's travelers to ford a creek before dumping them onto black top. When my father approached the creek that morning in his VW Bug it appeared to be a little high, but there wasn't anything to compare the depth to. Being unaware of how deep it really was he drove in, and was swallowed whole by the flooded waters. They were swept down stream into a fallen tree, climbed out the sun roof, and fortunately, swam to safety. Amazingly that old car was fished out and ran for several more years though it always made strange noises after that.

Seeing is vital! We must have light, clarity and discernment. We must also have a wide field of vision. We are at risk if we stare off to the right or left and fail to see what's in front of us. It's equally bad to focus so intently straight ahead that we fail to see the broader picture.

I am so glad that God has provided a remedy for our vision problems. He bids us to, anoint our eyes with eye salve that we may see. Rev. 3:18 What is this eye salve, and how do we get it? God tells us that the ointment can be found in His word. His word is a light unto our path. Ps. 119:105 Jesus is the light of the world.

John 8:12 Not only does he tell us that the light can be found through knowing Him as revealed in His word, but He also offers to give us clarity and discernment. He promises to give wisdom to all who ask for it, James 1:5 and to send the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. John 16:13 We have nothing to worry about as long as we study His word and keep our eye fixed on Him trusting Him to guide us. Psalms 91:11, 12; Isa. 41:10

Bonnie Morsette ~ 8/29/08