Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Copyright 6/26/13 by Sarah G. Pemberton

I’ve been going through a period of my life where God is speaking to me through tons of little things — signs all around me that jump out toward me with a personal message from Holy Spirit, to guide me through a rough season, and give me hope for my future.  So when I got my new eyeglasses last Thursday, I was excited that my up-close vision was excellent, but disappointed that distance vision was worse than without my glasses!  The old glasses were also useless for any distance anymore.   I have been driving with the glasses off, so I can see down the road slightly better, but still blurry.  I tried to tell the optometrist at the time, but he said, “Just try these for a couple of days and see if you adjust to them.  I’ve bought enough progressive lens glasses to know that if they’re wrong, they’re wrong.  Wobbly for a day or two, I can adjust to.  Blurry, I cannot.

I went back to the eye doctor Tuesday, and told the staff that the prescription is definitely wrong.  The farther anything gets away from me, the blurrier it is.  I can see about 20 feet, if the glasses are down to the tip of my nose; and I can see my hand in front of my face clearly, if the glasses are perched up where they normally belong.  Beyond that, everything is useless with the new glasses.  Fortunately, the advantage of being middle-aged is that far-sightedness has improved my overall distance vision where I’m at least safe to drive around town, though I can’t read unfamiliar street signs.

The technician lady checks a bunch of things and notices that when I’m looking at the chart, my vision shifts from split-second-blur-to-clear-to-blur whenever I blink.  I might have a split second of clarity when I open my eyes extra wide, or squint.

She tells me that I have all the symptoms of “dry eye,” and explains they can’t correct the Rx until the dry eye is treated with a couple of lubrication applications for a couple of weeks and the irritation to my cornea is cleared up, so they know what Rx I really need that will work.  I have to use drops four times a day or so.  I have to use an ointment in my eyes at night, while I sleep, and increase its impact by placing hot, wet compresses on my eyes after applying the ointment, before I go to sleep.  She warned that the ointment will temporarily make things blurrier, which is why that is only for bedtime.

(Interestingly, our little Dachshund is also being treated for dry eye, related to another eye condition from which she suffers.  She’s doing much better already.  Now it’s my turn.)

As the tech leaves the exam room to show her findings to confirm the diagnosis with the ophthalmologist, do you know what song is playing on the PA?  “Hold on for One More Day!” by Wilson-Philips.  (You can find it on YouTube, if you like, but I think linking is against the rules on Word Press.)

I’m sharing all this because some of you may find the prophetic, symbolic message here fitting your own lives as well.  So, for those of you left-brainers who struggle to interpret prophetic signs:

[1]  If the efforts of usual spiritual care and wisdom for your life are not successfully correcting your fuzzy, old, spiritual vision, don’t give up and call it hopeless!  Hold on for a little longer to trust and see what God can do, if you shift your usual approach to how this is done!

[2]  Check for “dryness” – a need to soak for a season in the Presence of the Holy Spirit to heal the irritations that have slowly built up, which hinder your clarity of spiritual vision.  (Acts 1-2)

[3]  Don’t get angry at the spiritual authorities God has put in your life for personal correction, just because what they first recommend doesn’t seem to be working.  Soak in worship, prayer, and meditation on the Lord’s Word until your spirit is able to stabilize into a state of God’s peace.  Then, you can maintain your focus on what will help you to cooperate for the right correction, so you can see the big picture down the road of where God is taking you.

[4]  Until you have your accurate correction, trust God for sufficient clarity to see where you’re immediately going, even if the details aren’t clear.  Don’t try to go too far outside your familiar turf, until you have the distance-range vision to clearly do so.

So, I’ll keep you posted on how things are when the “new” new glasses come in.  Meanwhile, I’ve got some soaking to do…