Blind Love

"He mixed it with dust and put that mud on the eyes of the blind man." John 9:6

Because I am a PK or Preacher's kid, I spent a good deal of time in Sunday School, and even more time reading and studying bible stories. Our coloring books and comic books all had religious content. I had a keen imagination and liked to picture in my mind what it was like to live when Jesus did. I was always taken by the story of the man born blind. I could clearly imagine Jesus spitting in the dust (well, I had done that too) and rubbing the mans eyes. I could see in my mind the wizened face of the man turned up to Jesus, overwhelmed by the touch. I knew dust and spit and playing in mud quite well. These were my mediums. I imagined that he was at once excited and fearful. Excited to be well, fearful that his life was changing to something he didn't know. And worried that nothing would happen or none of it would matter. Jesus touched him and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. I could imagine the tepid water that he splashed in his face and his confusion as he saw he reflection. I imagined him sitting for a long time in the pool, studying the water as it rolled off his hands and seeing the sensation for the first time. He went running back to Jesus and was a beggar and blind no more. But I was always anxious that they never said how the man got by after that healing. I knew better than to expect 'happily ever after' but I always wished the bible gave me more clues.

Today, I want to rejoice in the love in my life which takes away blindness and makes me well. God's love is active all around us and all too often I fail to see it. Today, I want to live like the blind man who was healed, reveling in the touch of Jesus in my life. I want to be grateful for the mud and spit along with the water and the healing. I want to rejoice in all the people in my life who have more questions than answers and who ache to know what's going to happen. May today I be an instrument of God's blind love, which is constantly seeking out beggars to be healed, bringing a little light into dark places. I pray we may all be given eyes to see the need around us and the hearts to reach out in the love of God.