Like Trees Walking

"I see some men. They look like trees walking." Mark 8:24

Yesterday, I drove home from Cambridge to New Jersey in a snow storm. It wasn't particularly heavy snow, and the road conditions remained very passable, but it slowed my progress some. It made me slow down, on a day when I really just wanted to get the driving over with. It also made me pay very close attention, to be constantly vigilant while covering familiar territory. I noticed things on this trip that I had never before. I also noticed how the snow changed everything including depth perception and a sense of distance. White covered everything, and even the dirty, craggy cliffs on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge took on a mystical beauty in the snow. Our sight and vision is often limited by what we are willing to see. Often times, people with limited sight can perceive great depth and insight. When slowed down, beauty caught up to me.

In the Gospel story, Jesus heals a blind man, but the first time he touches him, his sight is fuzzy and people look like trees walking. I often wondered, if years later, when the man told this story, whether he longed for that time when his vision was blurry but he was close to Jesus. Often, when our timing, our vision, our way of doing things is disrupted or set aside, then can we see Jesus and feel his touch in our lives.When things go as planned, when we are clear and precise - it is often then when we are furthest away from the touch of God.

Today, I want to be aware of my complete need for Jesus. I want, like the blind man, to be vocal and clear about my limitations. I want to stay in Christ's presence and not rely on myself for completion of my healing. I want to have the strength today to be completely reliant on the completely reliable savior. May we all recognize our complete need today and trust in the complete healing of Jesus. May we be honest with our need so that others may be invited to honesty and healing in the near presence of the living God.