Time for an Eye Check-Up

Sometimes life speaks through metaphors - and lately, it’s been speaking through the eyes. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on three kinds of “visual challenges” I’ve been facing. Not all of them are medical.

Foggy Vision

It’s been raining heavily on this side of the country. Have you ever driven through a downpour where even fog lights, wipers on full blast, and reduced speed didn’t help? I am doing this - almost daily. And sometimes, the only safe response is to stop, wait, and start again once visibility returns.

Driving a small car in that weather only adds to the struggle. Big trucks cruise past like floating ships, splashing pothole water over my windshield, making an already difficult situation worse.

But here’s what I’ve noticed - these intense showers don’t last forever. They come in hard, but they pass quickly, often leaving behind a clear sky. 

Isn’t that just like life? There are seasons when everything feels unclear, overwhelming, or simply out of control. In those moments, the wisest thing I can do is slow down—or even stop - until clarity returns. Life is too precious to be risked in metaphorical fog.

Narrow Vision

Recently, a relative told me she felt her peripheral vision was diminishing. While we were chatting, she walked into a room, saw my wife—but not me. I offered to do a basic “Confrontation Visual Field Test,” and everything seemed okay. Maybe I just wasn’t visible enough! 😊

But it got me thinking: peripheral vision loss is real (especially with increasing age), but not just in a physical sense.

In life too, I often suffer from narrow vision. I get so focused on what I want to see that I miss what’s happening around me. I wear psychological blinders that filter out discomfort, disagreement, or even opportunities for growth. Some blind spots I never even recognize.

And that’s dangerous - not just for me, but for the people I live with and love. Unless I gain insight and intentionally choose to broaden my vision, I may unintentionally cause harm while staying blind to it.

Planked Vision (a.k.a. 'Loggy Vision')

This one’s the most dangerous—and sadly, the most familiar. I’ve been struggling with it myself lately. Maybe it’s my self-righteous side acting up. It is quite confusing too! 

You might recognize it from this well-known teaching from the Good Book:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Or this more modern paraphrase:

“It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own... Wipe that sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”

Planked vision is when I’m blind to my own faults but hyper-aware of others’ smallest missteps. It’s a judgmental spirit that critiques others while refusing honest self-examination.

Here’s the hard truth: the plank in my own eye often goes unnoticed - by me. But the speck in someone else’s? I can spot that from a mile away. It takes deep humility (and maybe a skilled ophthalmologist!) to help “de-log” myself.

But even that’s not enough. I must learn to look through the speck - into the heart - to see the visible and invisible beauty in every person around me.

Time for an Eye Check-Up

So yes, maybe it’s time for an eye check-up. Not just for cataracts, blind spots, or foggy corneas—but for my inner sight too.

The kind of vision that helps me walk more gently through the storms of life, see more broadly in relationships, and love more deeply - with clarity and grace. Because that was what was done for me!