Veiled Eyes

The girl at the coffee shop was wearing green tinted contacts, turning her eyes into a deep, unreal color. She had veiled her eyes, masked the real color, changing the appearance.

Shakespeare called the eyes the “windows to your soul.”

Just like the girl at the coffee shop, we mask these “windows to our souls” so that our lives appear pain free. We desire to live behind a false curtain of joy, excitement, offering the world a picture of the perfect life.

But, if we could see behind the curtain, we would see the complete journey. The scars, the pain, the self-doubt, the insecurity, the imperfections. We all have these flaws in our life, but we strive, desire, and fight hard to keep them hidden.

Like the girl at the coffee shop, it is as if we must put a lense over the window of our soul. Because, the world will not accept the less than perfect. The world will not glorify the real life. The world will magnify the flaws. So, we hide the shame, the wounds, the self-doubt, the battles we have fought.

But, what if the curtains were open for all the world to see? What if it was okay? What if the pressure of the life hidden behind the curtain was relieved? What if you could step in the theater of life blemished versus the facade of unblemished?

We could then find joy, hope, and peace. We would look around and realize we are all the same. We are all struggling, fighting to find peace and happiness. We all have a hole that can’t be filled.

Peter was on the beach with veiled eyes. The One who created the eyes looked in his eyes. The One who knows the past, present, and future looks into Peter’s eyes. Veiled eyes do not exist with Christ. He sees and and knows all.

In Peter, he sees a man that is full of passion, jumping into conclusions and action without thought. A man that is going to deny ever knowing Him as he is being led to His death. Jesus knows that Peter will silently watch as He is being hung on the cross.

Despite all the flaws and future disobedience, Jesus calls Peter a “rock” of the church. He selects Peter and calls him to a new life as a “fisher of men.”

Grace. Jesus overlooked all the imperfections, the flaws, and accepted Peter as he was.

As we walk through life with veiled eyes, hiding our short-comings from the world, announcing our best selves, our best lives, to the social media world each day, there is One with grace with His arms wide open watching. One that understands the veiled eyes, calling us to open the curtain, to let Him in.

And, when you do, the veil will be removed, the pressure will be relieved, and the hole will be filled.

Praise God that he looks through our veiled eyes and offers unending, unimaginable acceptance, undeserved grace.

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