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The first time I got glasses


I still remember the first time I went to the eye doctor. I had good eyes most of my life, and I remember in 9th grade how I really wanted glasses just because they looked cool. To my relief, my eye doctor told me that I could get glasses if I wanted (optional). After the scary wind-blowing machine spit out an appropriate dosage, he opened a drawer to assemble a funny looking frame with interchangeable lenses. He handed it to me to try on, and I still so clearly remember the moment I put them on the first time.

I was in complete shock and awe--I had no idea it was even POSSIBLE to see the world any clearer. I was so used to seeing in the (imperfect) way I had seen for my first sixteen years of life, that I was completely oblivious to the fact that there was an alternate way that was even better. It was MINDBLOWING, and since that point, I've never wanted to settle for my old way of living without glasses. I couldn't imagine going to class squinting to barely read the chalk on the board, or walking around school without the the ability to recognize faces of people waving to me. Once I experienced life with glasses, I couldn't live my life without them.
I had a similar experience during OCR my junior year. OCR (Operation Campus Reach) is an initiative at HMCC where many undergraduate students gather a week before the new school begins to reach out to the incoming freshmen. I remember how that time of training and immediate application left an indelible mark in my view of the university. I came into college to earn my degree, make some friends, and bounce but during OCR I began seeing the university in a COMPLETELY different way. I saw the same buildings and classes as my mission fields, my chances to represent Christ, and I couldn't imagine living my life any other way. It was crazy.

Somehow since that moment 2.5 years ago when I began understanding what it meant to follow Jesus daily, I started losing the confidence I had in my mission. I wish I could say ever since that point, I never looked back and could not imagine my life without fulfilling the mission God has given me. But truth is, many times I looked back, around, and ahead--thinking about my previously self-seeking life, about the people around me who are finding security in other things, and about the things ahead that sometimes seem so much easier if I was just in control. Lord I want to be fit for your kingdom--help me not to put my hand to the plow and look back, but to be ALL IN, fully committed to this journey of following after you..

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