Blind spots both surround us and help define us – wether we realize this or not – it is a simple truth.

This thought occurred to me today as I walked along a local stream with Laurel, my retriever. I kept looking around for her as I worked my way upstream, and every time I found her she was in the same spot – six inches off my right back pocket. After about the fifth time, I laughed as I realized she was habitually walking in my blind spot – close enough to touch but completely unseen.

As I fished, my thoughts kept coming back to blind spots.

The trout have blind spots. We use this to our advantage as we stealthily approach them from downstream.

But the fish can’t help their vulnerability. The current forces them to face upstream. God gave them eyes to see forward, sideways, and up – and He put them on the fish’s head, not its tail – a design for which we are thankful. The fish has a good excuse for blind spots.

Then I got to thinking about my own blind spots; those that I recognize in myself and those brought to my attention by others. Those things about myself I would like to control, improve, change, direct, or eliminate. One such came up so many times over the years that I had it tattooed on my inner forearm – and that reminder still is inadequate.

As the afternoon flowed by, my mind continued thinking about the broader narrative – of ancient truths written to us in Ecclesiastes – and how we still miss the point.

We live our lives as though they go on forever, ignoring the reality that our time on Earth is limited. We spend our days building that which will not endure, or that will be passed on to some stranger – vainly thinking these are what will remember us. We fail to direct our time, energy, and efforts to those whom love us the most. We fail to forgive, forgetting He who first forgave us. We fail to accept responsibility. We fail to give back. We fail to learn. Blind Spots.

We enjoy the free will we have been given by our Creator, overlooking and taking for granted the selfless sacrifice given at the Cross, and overlooking the choice to love and draw close to the God whom is all around us.

So what must we do? Simply pause. Think about our thinking. Think about our words. Think about our efforts. Consider our motivations. Consider our own mortality. Consider our Creator. And – go fishing as often as we can – it seems that in a stream the only thing unseen is what lies behind us.