{"id":5083,"date":"2019-08-04T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5083"},"modified":"2019-07-13T22:59:51","modified_gmt":"2019-07-14T03:59:51","slug":"choose-to-see-blind-spots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5083","title":{"rendered":"Choose to See blind Spots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Choices change our lives\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

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A blind spot is something we cannot see that can negatively impact us.<\/p>\n

Drivers are very familiar with blind spots. A car or truck\u2019s blind spot can be quite large. It\u2019s the area where another car, truck, bicycle, or motorcycle cannot be seen with the rearview or side mirrors. Many accidents occur when drivers don\u2019t take a moment to actually turn their heads to glance quickly at those areas before changing lanes. If they don\u2019t look, they won\u2019t see what is in their blind spot.<\/p>\n

All of us have spiritual blind spots as well. We have weaknesses we may not be aware of.<\/p>\n

Once I was talking to my doctor about how a certain health problem I had was handled by her colleague. She said, \u201cYes, that definitely should have been done differently and I can see that you are angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

I responded quickly, \u201cI am not angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

She patiently said, \u201cYes, you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought for a moment, said a quick prayer, and then said, \u201cMaybe I am angry.\u201d I didn\u2019t think I was angry but I\u2019m sure my body language and tone of voice revealed my true feelings \u2013 feelings I wasn\u2019t even aware of until pointed out to me.<\/p>\n

Anger is a tricky thing \u2013 as are so many areas of our lives. In fact, our lives are full of blind spots we can\u2019t get a handle on because we don\u2019t know they are there.<\/p>\n

Psalm 19:12 says, \u201cCleanse me from secret faults.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could some of our faults be so secret that even we don\u2019t know what they are? I think so! And to make it even worse, sometimes we don\u2019t want to know the truth about ourselves, especially when it comes to our hidden weaknesses \u2013 weaknesses we aren\u2019t even aware of \u2013 blind spots!<\/p>\n

These blind spots not only impact our lives but the lives of those around us. So it would be a good idea to ask God to gently reveal them to us and help us to make changes. Blind spots hinder our relationships with others and with God. They also block our spiritual growth. God\u2019s Holy Spirit can search us and keep us attuned to the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). David asked God to search him and lead him towards God\u2019s truth (Psalm 139:23-24). We need God\u2019s guidance even when we think we don\u2019t. Inviting God to lovingly help us see our blind spots can make it easier for us to deal with them.<\/p>\n

Good friends whom we trust can also help us get a grip on reality with a \u201cspirit of gentleness\u201d (Galatians 6:1). It is so easy to deceive ourselves into thinking we are okay when we really aren\u2019t (Galatians 6:2-5). Psalm 19:12 also says, \u201cWho can discern their own errors?\u201d<\/p>\n

Usually, we can\u2019t discern our own errors because blind spots are hard to see. Are we stubborn, selfish, or angry? Are we bitter, or resentful? Do we feel entitled? Are we ignorant and proud of it? Are we performance driven or Spirit driven? Not only do blind spots keep us from seeing the truth about ourselves, they can keep us from seeing the truth about others.<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026<\/strong> David asked God to \u201cforgive his hidden faults\u201d (Psalm 19:12). Hidden faults are blind spots, and even if we don\u2019t know what they are, we are held responsible for them anyway.<\/p>\n

One final thought\u2026<\/strong> Blind spots become visually clearer when we walk in the Light! (1 John 1:5-7 ESV).<\/p>\n

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Choices change our lives\u2026 By Barbara Dahlgren   A blind spot is something we cannot see that can negatively impact us. Drivers are very familiar with blind spots. A car or truck\u2019s blind spot can be quite large. It\u2019s the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5083\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}