Sometimes the closer we are to something, the harder it is to see. That insight seems to contradict common sense, but it's as true as it can be.
Normally, we move closer when we want to see better - but often our sight improves with distance.
And it is even possible to be so close . . . that we can't see anything at all.
When my children were growing up, I generally saw them every day. I obviously knew that they were growing, but their growth was almost invisible to me. I was so close to them - and so deeply involved in their lives - that I didn't notice any change at all from day to day. When grandparents visited from far-away places, however, all they talked about was the growth and change of my children.
Children probably find the comment confusing, but most of us remember times long ago when some adult would say to us, "My, how much you've grown!" In our view, we were just like we were the day before. But the reason we saw things that way is because we were too close. So close, in fact, that we couldn't really see what was right in front of our eyes.
I've seen the same thing happen in these past few weeks at the gym. I started working out near the end of July. During that first week, I met with a trainer who put together an exercise program for me. When I met with him, he demonstrated a series of exercises that he wanted me to do. Then he wrote it all out on a piece of paper and listed the number of sets and repetitions. At the bottom on the paper, he wrote this: "Repeat this group of exercises two to three times."
On that first day, I found that final instruction laughable. I was admittedly pretty weak in late July; I had been sick and I had not done anything physically demanding for a couple of months. When the trainer demonstrated the exercises, I could barely even do some of them. My struggle wasn't with the repetitions - my problem was doing some of the exercises a single time! I tried to act like it was no big deal, but in my heart I knew that I simply couldn't do what I was being asked to do.
Honestly, I saw absolutely no progress during those first few days. I tried my hardest and I put in the time - but there was no substantial growth that I could see. In fact, the whole thing was so disheartening that I almost gave up.
Several weeks later, things look very different. Today I went through the series of exercises three full times. Yes, it was tough - but I can't begin to explain the change that has happened over three or four weeks. I couldn't see that change earlier because, first, it hadn't really happened yet. But I also couldn't see the change because I was too close. Change takes time. Often, in the middle of the change, it looks like nothing is happening.
The same principle holds true in so many arenas of life. And it holds true especially in the spiritual realm.
Am I growing spiritually? Is God doing anything in my life? Am I changing? Am I being changed?
Well, if we're too close, we're likely to answer, "No, not really. I can't see anything happening at all." And I suppose that could be true. On the other hand, it might not be true at all. It could be that all kinds of things are happening - and that we are simply too close to see those things.
From a little distance - and with the passing of some time - we might see something very different.
As strange as it sounds, sometimes we will see a lot better if we are not too close.