How often do you go to the eye doctor? When I had laser eye surgery, I was told to go at least once a year in order to keep the lifetime guarantee on the surgeon’s work. I committed to those annual appointments and felt very proud that I kept my end of the agreement. Each year I thought, “I’m so good, I go to the eye doctor every year!” Of course, the reality is that I only went twice. Yes, it was for two whole years, but only two actual appointments. As with everything, life got in the way. And over time it just didn’t seem that important anymore. So much for the lifetime guarantee.
Now that my vision is getting bad again, I wish I had kept my commitment.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy to look back and see the mistakes we’ve made. Or the things we should have kept doing. Or things we should have stopped a long time ago. Everything seems perfectly clear––what we could have done or should have done differently. If only we had chosen wisely, how much better the outcomes would have been. How much better our life would be.
But the truth is that seeing what choices we should change is far different than actually making the decision to change them. If we were back in that situation now, would we make a different decision? Unfortunately, even if the answer is yes we can’t go back. Instead, we have to look at where we are now. With that in mind, is it time to take stock of where we are today? Should we look at our current decisions and consider the impact they’ll have on our future? It sounds simple. If only it was. It’s like being on an obstacle course, with challenge after challenge before us, and decisions to be made for how to conquer them.
It’s near impossible to navigate the obstacle course of life on our own.
There are walls to climb, mud fields to crawl through, pits to avoid, and puzzles to solve. And that’s why we need teammates. We need sisterhood. We need others to encourage us and help us figure out the best approach to each new challenge. We need to know we’re a part of something greater than ourselves. Can we get through the obstacle course of life on our own? Maybe. But it will be much harder, take much longer, and we won’t have the celebratory victory at the end if we go it alone. Giving yourself a “high five” isn’t all that satisfying.
And there’s another critical part to the obstacle course. We need to run with people who can show us where to go.
If we’re running with a blindfold on, we can’t be led by someone who also has a blindfold on. That’s the blind leading the blind. Neither of us can see where we’re going and we’ll both end up in a pit. Maybe we’re blindfolded spiritually. We want to see God but we don’t know where He is in our life. Maybe we’re blindfolded emotionally. We’ve been hurt and we don’t know how to find healing for our wounds.
If we’re in a phase of life where we can’t see clearly, or maybe we can’t see at all, it’s time to reach out to someone who can guide us through the maze. Someone who knows Jesus and can help us find our way to Him. Someone who can dress our wounds and then bring us to God, the only person who can heal us from the inside out.
The obstacle course of life can be extremely challenging. It can also be filled with excitement and victory as we work in tandem with others to conquer each new task. The key is to find at least one person who’s running without a blindfold so they can help guide us safely to the other side.
“Then Jesus gave the following illustration: ‘Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch?’” Luke 6:39 (NLT)
May I pray?
God, sometimes we dread the obstacle course of life with its unknown challenges. Often that’s because we don’t have anyone on our side who has conquered the challenges already. And sometimes we know we’re blindfolded but we don’t have anyone to guide us around the pits. Father, please bless us with a new sister in Christ who can see You clearly. Please grant us the courage to reach out to her and ask for help. May we praise You knowing we will celebrate our victory together at the end of the race. Amen.
Q4U: Who is your go-to person that will help guide you around life’s pits?