By Judith Victoria Hensley

Plain Thoughts

If only we could see all things clearly. An eye check-up with 20/20 vision is what we’d all like to have physically. Beyond the physical, most of us wish we had 20/20 vision about life in general and specifically for the direction we should take in the coming year.

The challenges of 2019 have made me look at the year 2020 a little differently. We can’t go back in time and change anything. Worrying about worst case scenarios far into the future is a waste of energy. Each day is a gift that we hold in our hands for a short time. We don’t know what might change in a single day to send us down an unexpected path.

“Hindsight is 20/20.” Most of us have heard that phrase used on different occasions. We can see a much bigger picture after an event when we look back on it and see the ripple effects of how people were impacted by decisions made.

Currently, the military situation within the Middle East is largely unpredictable. None of the players know what the impact of one bad decision will have on the region, global politics, or the nations involved. If they could have had 20/20 vision about the outcome before decisions were made and events put into play, each or all may have chosen differently.

Who made the right decision? Who made the wrong decision? Who can say for sure? As my cousin Vince Daniel likes to say, “Such lofty matters are above my pay grade.”

There are so many political armchair quarterbacks on the rampage right now from both sides of the aisle, it is impossible to sort everything out in our minds accurately. We as the public only have a very small portion of the total information available to those making hugely important decisions about our nation. If our leader and other political leaders involved had 20/20 vision, they would perhaps be more cautious in their decisions.

Many religious leaders are proclaiming that the calendar year and our personal vision of life are going to coincide. They have said it is going to be a year of clarity and insight. We can all certainly hope they are right.

Few of us have the ability to make decisions and measure the full extent of the consequences of those actions with absolute clarity. We do the best we can to make wise choices, and hope that they turn out to be the right ones. Yet on many levels we still walk blindly into the future. For many of us, faith is the compass that guides us and influences our behavior.

At the center of my being, my strength for the day, and my hope for tomorrow is my faith in God. Nothing that comes into our lives unexpectedly is a surprise to God, although it may certainly come as a shock to us. I can’t see what may happen before I go to bed tonight or what may happen to one of my loved tomorrow. But I have absolute faith that whatever comes, God will love me through it, extend mercy, grace, and strength where it is needed.

I may not have the clarity of 20/20 vision about life as my circumstances change but I can remain steadfast in my vision of God’s place in the center of those circumstances, As we all navigate the unwritten days of a new year, keeping things in perspective is as important as anything else we can do.

If we fall down, we get up. If we fail, we try again. If we do our best and still don’t get things right, we don’t give up. Sometimes it takes difficult experiences from the past to teach us what we need to know so that we can make the right decisions.

May the year 2020 bring with it clear vision for all of us about our lives and the path we need to take each day.