When life feels hard or uncertain, I try to lift my gaze off of my problems and onto the One who knows me, sees me, loves me, and is always, always working on my behalf.
Today’s guest, Karen Wingate, has a unique understanding regarding what we do and do not see.
Remembering What We Cannot See
by Karen Womgate
When I was a child, my family often traveled the back roads of Arizona to my grandparents through what was then farming country between Phoenix and Tucson. That was in the day when Arizona was famous for its Pima cotton. But all I could see were smudges of white.
Born legally blind, my description of distant objects was in terms of “blurry blobs.” My family slowly got the idea that if I was to see a particular thing, they would either have to point it out to me or move me closer. Once I saw the item up close, my mind would fill in the details the next time I saw the distant blur.
During one trip, my mother drove while my step-dad monitored his ham radio. On an abandoned county road south of Phoenix, she abruptly did a hard left into a cotton field.
“What are you doing?” my stepdad sputtered, as he bent to pick up his microphone.
She calmly replied. “I’m going to show Karen a cotton boll.”
And she did. We “gleaned” a cotton boll from the edge of a field. I then spent the rest of the trip pulling it apart and marveling at the strands of cotton and the hard seeds embedded within. So that’s why Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin!
I marvel at my mother’s wisdom. She brought the world to me, but she did more. She used my poor vision that identified things as “blobs” as a launching pad for asking, “What’s out there?” I learned to squelch fear of the unknown with curiosity and perceive the unseen as an adventure, rather than a threat.
God invites us to do the same in our spiritual journey. He says in Jeremiah 33:3, “‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know (NKJV).’
But venturing past the defined detail of the familiar can be scary. We don’t know what lies beyond in space or time. What we do see or know looks much like my blurry blobs.
Instead of leaving us to retreat in fear, God invites us to move forward with curiosity. He has so much to show us. He has exciting moments waiting where we’ll see glimpses of His glory and the inner details of His work. He wants us to come boldly before His throne, walk into the center of His will, and discover just how great a God He is.
He is there in the undefined, beyond what we can see. He is here, waiting to walk into the unknown with us, so He can show us who He is and what He can do. As we venture into the new, we discover the reality of what we could not see, and the wonder will push aside the fear.
As you walk toward the ambiguity of an upcoming event or the future hours of an ordinary day, why not squelch uncertainty with curiosity? Ask, “Lord, what’s out there? Show me what You are doing.” He may show you spiritual treasure that will equip you with hope for the next time you trek into the unknown. Or He may simply ask you to trust Him and let Him guide you through what you cannot see for the moment.
If you fear what lies ahead, take a deep breath, and tell the Lord you’re ready to discover whatever He’s waiting to show you. Whatever it is will be amazing.
Get to Know Karen: Karen Wingate is author of the award-winning book, With Fresh Eyes: 60 Insights into the Miraculously Ordinary from a Woman Born Blind After she and her husband spent 35 years in local church ministry, they have returned to the desert Southwest where Karen continues to write and speak, including an appearance on the Focus on the Family broadcast. Visit her website at www.karenwingate.com.
Check out her book, With Fresh Eyes: 60 Insights Into the Miraculously Ordinary from a Woman Born Blind:
What miracles do we miss when we close our eyes to the wonder of everyday moments?
In this busy, jaded world of ours, we often take for granted what we see every day. We may set aside time to spend with God in a quiet room, but we struggle to see his hand in a traffic jam or while walking the dog. But for Karen Wingate, sight itself is something extraordinary, and what our eyes can reveal is even more astounding.
Karen lived most of her life with severely limited sight due to a cluster of disorders stemming from a genetic defect. But through the chance outcome of a surgery, she regained sight in one eye that doubled her visual acuity–and allowed her to see things she had never seen before. And as she discovered a more detailed world for the first time, she also began to see God in every new discovery–from the prosaic numbers of a bathroom scale to the glory of sunsets.
With Fresh Eyes invites readers not only to celebrate the gift of their own sight but to reawaken to the wonder of what they observe in creation–great and small–and how God is working in everyday moments. In each of her sixty meditations, Karen’s humor and whimsy draw a connection between physical sight and spiritual understanding that will leave readers with a renewed joy and delight in what is good and beautiful, and will reassure them that God still works in the lives of his people.
Grab your copy HERE.
What an encouraging, refreshing, needed reminder! Thank you Karen and Jennifer. ❤️
Good morning, friend! I loved Karen’s encouragement as well! 🙂