Going Blind

A three story gothic cathedraled farmhouse sat next to my great grandparents less grandiose clapboard home. It was in ill repair, long abandoned and the windows were nearly fogged over with dust. On Sunday afternoon visits my brother and I would sneak around the farm and over the property line to explore the mystery next door.

Actually we would try to see through the windows and my older brother would make up stories about seeing things moving around in the house. His attempts to terrify me never failed. I would eventually run back to the house and tattle on him for his nightmare inducing scare tactics.

There was nothing more than old dust covered boxes visible through the window in those moments, but with my brother whispering over my shoulder I saw all sorts of ghoulish faces. The darkness has a tendency to trick our eyes.

We will see what we look for.

My day can go from bad to worse in seconds. When the darkness breaches the edges of our everyday the temptation can be to stare into it. The sun can blind us and so can the dark. Staring into the darkness can blind us to all the light.

Paul was blind long before the light seared his retinas. Darkness is much more dangerous to our sight than light. Fish living in caves are blind. Their eyes weakened to uselessness by a lifetime of dark dwelling.

The dark is weak until we give into it. A broken nail, a diagnosis, a cranky toddler, a sharp comment, are all invitations, big and small, to the darkness. An invitation to a quick spiral into the pit where we lose our sight along with our perspective.

{Start this series from the beginning and join me tomorrow as I talk about my own struggle to stay in the light.}

Do you find yourself giving into the darkness?