I have always had vision problems.
When I was in kindergarten, my teacher told my parents they should get my vision checked because I couldn’t see past my nose.
My parents also noticed my vision problems. And so they took me to our optometrist.
“Yep,” our optometrist said. “Your son can’t see past his nose. He needs glasses.”
I have been wearing glasses almost ever since. When I was 20, I wanted to be free from glasses. I wanted to know what it would feel like to wake up and instantly see the time on my alarm clock. I wanted freedom from my glasses. So I got laser eye surgery.
The surgery was like a miracle. I never knew what it was like to be in a body that could see past its nose without the help of glasses. It was amazing.
The surgery lasted for about 10 years, and then my vision gradually deteriorated. So I got glasses.
From very early on in my life, everyone has agreed that my vision was something that needed to be fixed. And that it could be fixed. And that my life would be better if I had it fixed.
As I’ve grown, I’ve noticed that my body is different from other bodies. There are some people who have perfect vision their whole lives. There are some people whose vision deteriorates over time. And some people, like me, need glasses straight from the womb.
But there is one response that I have never heard from anyone about my vision problems.
Nobody has ever accused me of believing that God made a mistake with my body.
That’s because we all know that bodies are different. I was among the 3% of the American population who needed glasses by age 5.
Glasses augmented my vision to help me see better. Glasses make me more comfortable in my body. I thank God for the ability to fix my vision through glasses and through surgery so that I can see better.
God didn’t make a mistake with my vision. My vision just is the way that it is.
This part of my story is unique to me, but it’s also part of the human story.
We are all born into bodies with different shapes, sizes, and abilities. And sometimes we discover that certain aspects of our bodies are not ideal for our flourishing.
So we seek to change our bodies.
I tell you about my vision problems and transformation because I recently posted a meme on social media that said, “Our transgender siblings are created in the image of God.”
Someone on TikTok replied, “If they are made in the image of GOD, why do they switch their gender? Are they saying god made a mistake creating them in their biological form?”
I was born with a body that needed augmentation to fix my vision problems. I was already made in the image of God, so why did I switch my vision from the biological form that God created it to be? Did God make a mistake?
No. God didn’t make a mistake. I was born into this specific body with these specific qualities, including poor vision that I could make better.
In a similar way, God did not make a mistake with our transgender siblings. Some of us, like me, are born into bodies that need a transformation of our vision to help us flourish.
Some of us are born into bodies that need a transformation of our gender to help us flourish.
I have had the privilege of never being questioned by religious people about the ways I have changed my body to help me flourish.
Our transgender siblings should have that same privilege.
