I was in my office working when I heard an odd kind of thud coming from the bathroom. I went in to investigate and my cat was on top of the bathroom vanity. He was fine and jumped down within a minute or two but I’d never seen him up there before.
A little while later, I heard a crash coming from the direction of my bedroom. I ran in and a metal tin that holds some toiletries was on the floor in the master bathroom with its contents spilled everywhere. Again, it had been the cat. He must have lifted himself up to see what was in the container and ended up knocking it down.
Some more time went by when I noticed him reaching his paws under a closet door and slowly sliding it open.
Okay, I know cats are naturally curious but there was more to this sudden burst of inquisitiveness than that.
You see, a few weeks earlier, my cat had been to the vet for a routine teeth cleaning and had a major complication to the anesthesia. He went into cardiac arrest briefly. Luckily, the vet was able to revive him but for the next couple of weeks he wasn’t himself. The brief time of lack of oxygen to his brain created an ischemic stroke in his little body and he was left unable to walk and completely blind.
Very slowly, his body began to heal. He began to try to get up and walk although he limped and fell down a lot. Eventually, he was able to walk around the entire house again without stumbling but his eyesight didn’t seem to be returning.
More time went by and he seemed to be seeing more and more. He began to jump up and down onto furniture again. Finally, he began to notice the details of his life again.
That’s when he began checking new things out—even things that he hadn’t really noticed before the stroke incident. Losing your sight and then finding it again brings a certain newness and clarity. He was blind and now he could see!
Being temporarily blind gives you perspective to appreciate your vision and your life.
When I began to have faith, I began to see with new eyes. I saw spiritual, God-moments all around me that I hadn’t really noticed before. I was a new creation with eyes that saw more than they did before. Sometimes when I look only with my physical eyes and my own understanding, I only see the negatives of the world and I can easily lose hope but the more I continue to look with my eyes of faith, the more I see the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that are portrayed all around me.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
