Since grade 5 I've worn either glasses or contacts. In Elementary school I was definitely the geeky kid with the huge frames. By 7th grade I had the trifecta: glasses were joined by braces and a short haircut that I didn't really know how to style. I also wore sweater vests (they were "in" then, I swear).
By grade 9, the braces were gone and so were the glasses (don't worry - the sweater vests were LONG gone by then). Replaced by fancy new contacts, all of my old clunky frames were banished to the back of the top dresser drawer.
10+ years later, and I'm back to the glasses. Even though I've had them for almost 6 months, I still find myself forgetting they are there. Quite frequently, I try to itch my eye and end up with a nice smudge on the lens. Annoying. I just did it a few minutes ago, hence this post.
So, here comes the analogy (I have a friend writing a book of analogies, maybe this will get a feature in it?) When you go from no glasses to glasses, or glasses to no glasses, you have to retrain your brain so you act differently.
The same is true for us living the Christian life. I remember wearing my glasses the first time in 5th grade, and sitting in the back of the class. Every time I looked up from my textbook, I would squint at the board, and then remember I didn't need to squint.
I don't need to wonder in the back of my mind what people are thinking of me when I'm having a conversation with them. I can focus on the conversation and the needs of the other people, because my identity is secure in Christ. I don't need to do nice things for them just so they like me more; I can serve them out of love.
Maybe this analogy is a stretch, but I think both situations involved a pattern of thinking before we act; retraining our brains to help us understand what's going in.
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