Do I see what you see?

"your eyes shall look and fail"

Deuteronomy 28:32

I saw a very good friend of mine yesterday at church.  At least, I think I did...

We were coming in the front door, and heading to the left, which is where the sanctuary is, but off to the right, where the children's classrooms are, I saw someone waving.  I recognized that it was my friend, Meghan, so I waved back and kept walking.

And as I continued down the corridor to the sanctuary, I thought, "I hope that really was Meghan, and I hope I was the one she was waving at.  Otherwise I looked a little silly just now..."

You see, I haven't been wearing my contact lenses lately.  Finances are a little tight, so I decided that was something I could do without until our budget stabilizes a little bit.  And besides, I have glasses, so I can just wear those. 

Except I never do.  'Cause they're kind of a hassle.  They can be uncomfortable, they need frequent cleaning, I can't wear them when I'm outside or driving because I can't wear my sunglasses over them, and I need my sunglasses. 

So at any given time, things in the distance look a little blurry to me.  But it doesn't bother me too much, because my eyes aren't too bad, and with a little squinting, all is good. 

I know; I'm gonna pay for this behavior in a few years, when I have crow's feet...

But here's what I got to thinking about:  if that was Meghan, and she was waving at me, she was doing so with the assumption that I could see her as clearly as she could see me.  Because really, don't we all assume that others can see what we see, and see them as clearly as we see them? 

But even with glasses and contacts, people see differently.  Not everyone is 20/20.  And it's true spiritually, too.  I can leave church having heard the same sermon as my sweetie, and yet something different stood out to each of us.  Or maybe there was something I heard that he doesn't even remember.  We're all at different places in our spiritual walk, and we see situations in accordance with our understanding and experience. 

It's hard to remember that sometimes.  We wonder why someone we love is not in sync with us, or why they can't see what is completely obvious to our eyes. 

It's because vision is not the same.   History, maturity, appreciation, insight, wisdom and Biblical knowledge ~ they all color our perspective, and it's a mistake to assume that others see what we do.

Patience, understanding, and communication.... and a willingness to see things from others' points of view.   There's always more to see.

~ "Let each of you look out 

 not only for his own interests,

but also for the interests of others" ~

Philippians 2:4

~