She glued her eye shut!
You read right. Several years ago, a woman living in Florida, United States, got a piece of debris in her eye while blowing leaves. She called to a friend for help, but instead of coming back with eye drops, the friend returned with a small bottle of fingernail glue—a product used to apply artificial nails or tips.
The woman told a local TV station, “As soon as I felt it in my eye, I felt it burn, and I closed my eye and screamed ‘Call 911.’”
Ultimately, she ended up being OK, but wow, what an experience!
How could her friend have mistakenly (we hope) given her glue when she meant to give her eye-drops?
How could someone be so focused on getting stuff that hurts them in their search for stuff that’s supposed to help, even, heal them?
As I read this story, my thoughts naturally turned to the many stories of people I’ve known—including myself—who have searched and searched for what they thought would help and heal their spiritual “eyes,” only to find out that those things only hurt them.
Many in our world live their lives focused solely on their feelings. They let their emotional hearts dictate what thing, person, or experience will provide contentment. But the Bible wisely warns us: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jer. 17:9, NLT). Additionally, it gives us this instruction: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Prov. 4:23, NLT).
How do we do it? How do we not listen to our hearts, but instead guard them? The answer is simple. Well, it’s simple; but it’s not easy. Our answer comes—unfortunately—from the most experienced source: King Solomon. He wrote (after a lifetime of listening to his heart, with abysmal results) in his journal of sorts, what he learned from a life of reckless, godless living: “Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about” (Eccl. 12:13, CEV).
So there you have it. Want to live a life of purpose, peace, power, fulfillment, and joy? Want to heal—not hurt—your spiritual eyes? Acknowledge, respect, and obey God. That’s the only recipe for a life worth living.
Also, don’t keep the glue near your eye drops.
Omar Miranda, a counselor and writer, lives with his family in unplain Plainville, Georgia.
