Once again, I can be found on the porch, enjoying the morning. Things aren’t as crisp and clear today. I lost my glasses yesterday, and although my vision isn’t terrible without them, small print is nearly impossible, and I can tell there’s a lack of overall sharpness and clarity.

Sure, I can distinguish the birds from the squirrels, and even the male from the female cardinal, but the details are lost to me.

It has me thinking about the scripture, “For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know even as also I am known.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12

In Paul’s time, mirrors were made of polished metal, not clear glass like today. Reflections were dim, distorted, and incomplete. And isn’t that so much like how we see now?

We are given glimpses—through Scripture, through the Spirit, through creation, through experience and prayer—but it is still only in part. There are things we don’t fully understand. Things that don’t always make sense to us.

But one day, we will see clearly.

Fully.
Without distortion.
Without limitation.

There is comfort in that. A reminder to remain humble in what we cannot yet grasp, while holding on to the hope that understanding will come.

This verse follows Paul’s beautiful description of love, the kind that never fails, and perhaps that is no coincidence. Love is what carries us through the not-knowing. It steadies us in the waiting and in the wondering.

It feels like something God would do, to bring this verse to mind on a morning when my own vision feels just a little unclear.

My husband and I have been studying I and II Samuel, walking through parts of David’s life that are not always easy to understand. There are moments that leave us with questions, and places where our limited vision shows.

But even there, we are called to trust. To believe His Word, even when we cannot see it fully.

And maybe that is the point.

For now, we see in part.
But one day, we will see face to face.