Blindness

“The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.” – Psalm 146:8

Esme got a blindfold from her church class a few weeks back; they were learning the story of Jesus healing the blind man. She now enjoys wearing it around the house and bumping into things, but only because she can take it off whenever she wants. I saw a patient this morning whose visual acuity was light perception. Legal blindness is defined as visual acuity equal to or worse than 20/200 on the Snellen chart, but when patients can no longer see any letters, we measure how many feet away they can count fingers, then tell whether a hand is waving. Beyond that is light perception: when you can only tell whether or not a bright light is shining directly into your eye. This patient had lived with poor vision for some time, but came in because she had recently sustained several falls that required orthopedic surgery. 

Vision is something we take for granted until we lose it. The Bible speaks of a spiritual kind of blindness, a walking in the dark and under the power of Satan, until God opens our eyes to bring us into the light (Acts 26:18) and enable us to see and live in hope, glory and power (Ephesians 1:18-19). It is like the eyes of Elisha’s servant being opened to see the horses and chariots of fire all around them on the mountain (2 Kings 6:17): reality had not changed, but his ability to perceive it had. The vision God gives us is wonder, power and life.

When one has lived with blindness a long time, it is quite an experience to be able to see again. Typically the patients I see the day after cataract surgery are unexpectedly emotional. They tell me they had forgotten how bright the colors were. Or what it’s like to move with independence and confidence. Sometimes they ask whether the surgery gave them wrinkles on their face (no, those were there before, I say). If they can’t speak English, sometimes they just grip my hand and cry.

There is something akin to that type of wonder and irrepressible emotion in the Psalmist’s words here: “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” This is someone who has personally experienced the liberation and love of a God who sets prisoners free, who lifts up the discouraged, who sees the marginalized, and yes, who opens the eyes of the blind. This is someone whose experience of this God has completely transformed who he trusts in, who he worships, and what he longs for. May the same be true for us.