August 7, 2025 – Vision
I’m writing from the waiting room of the Eye Foundation emergency department. We were here last night for me, but this afternoon we are here for Don. I’ll back track a bit and try to make a long story short. Late yesterday morning, after grocery shopping near the restaurant where Don was working while waiting for a friend to meet him for lunch, I stopped to say hello. I didn’t stay long, because of the groceries, but didn’t get to leave because my car wouldn’t start. It was totally dead. Don had the idea for me to go home in his car, while he kept working, to get the Bolt charger. When I got back, we decided to go ahead and have a late lunch (since the friend couldn’t make it) and not have much supper since it was middle of the afternoon. That ended up being a wise choice since we were at the ER through supper and beyond.
The charger didn’t budge the battery, so we went home in his car with plans to deal with changing the battery after work, but I began to get more concerned about my blurry vision so Don dropped me at the doctor’s office while he took care of the car. My doctor said the new photo he took was different from the one Monday and that he suspected a tear; and, since it was on the top of my eye rather than the bottom (meaning gravity could pull and really cause a tear), he didn’t think it could wait. So my mother-in-law picked me up and took me home (to get on long pants for the cold waiting room) to wait for Don to pick me up.
My doctor had said it would help the ER that my eye was already dilated, but the ER doctor said it was wearing off. I told her that I almost mentioned that possibility to the receptionist and the doctor said I should have because my case was more of an emergency than anyone else in the waiting area. Umm what? Turns out I had two tears, a small hole, and an area of thinning he called lattice all of which they handled with a laser. The doctor who evaluated me said we were lucky because one of the retina specialists was on duty that night. I’d call that blessed and provided for. God goes before us and with us and this was not a surprise to Him and therefore allowed me to have peace despite the circumstance.
They sent Don to the waiting room explaining that if he looked at the laser it could cause macular degeneration; and, then the doctor aimed the laser at MY eye! He probed and pressed on my eye with some kind of tool (which wasn’t at all logical to my senses), said “Ready to start”, and then he blinked a nice green light in my eye a few times. That wasn’t so bad! However, that was just the beginning. The nice green light got angrier and angrier. Here’s where I’ll really shorten this. It was awful. Interestingly, Don told me later that he’d had a pain on the left side of his head that stopped about ten minutes before the doctor came to get him. What a gift to have a man in my life with that kind of sensitivity to me!
This morning Don had a checkup with his GP and when he reminded her about his migraines and auras (and the brain bleed he’d had years ago when he had leukemia) and then added that he’d had three incidents last week of lights flashing in his right eye, she said he’d just earned a trip to the Eye Foundation ER. My issue was the left eye and his is the right so we are a matched set. I do wonder if he hadn’t been here with me last night sensing the seriousness of eye issues, would he have put off his doctor’s concerns a while longer.
Don doesn’t look to borrow trouble, but I could tell the waiting was wearing on him. Not long after he’d filled out the paperwork, though, his phone rang and it was a friend from junior high who he hadn’t spoken with in a long while. What a divine distraction that call was and apparently a wake up call for his friend to get his eyes checked.
Since we are still waiting to be called back (I do wonder if they’ve forgotten us), I’ll go ahead and share the devotions from today.
JA – “I am the One who keeps your lamp burning. I turn your darkness into Light.” Thank You God – I’m grateful for doctors and procedures that help us regain our health (even if the procedures hurt). I could have potentially gone into darkness in my left eye but You led me to get timely help. The light in my eyes last night was so bright and painful, but I was mostly calm (as I pressed into the reclined chair trying to melt away from the laser) and would try to release the tension in my body and remember that You were with me.
Max – “Give the gift that God loves to give: The gift of encouragement.” Friends and family were encouraging me last night. Though my phone wasn’t totally clear to see, the messages (and getting to vent) were lifelines to me!
Streams – Acts 4:31,33 – “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly….with great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”
Utmost is so meaningful to me today – well, it is most days. “The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray…when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life?” Good question. OR – “…are you so identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands?” This makes me think of Chambers’ post from Tues the 5th. Relating our relationship with God to the parent child relationship offers, in most cases, such great perspective (and also explains why some with bad parenting experiences have trouble trusting and being in a relationship with God). I picture a child following a parent around asking questions and talking talking talking! We should be doing that with God. (I did do quite a bit of talking to Him last night trying to not be so tense and tell Him I trusted Him even though it was hurting so much.) Many times while raising my children, I would tell or correct them about something and would immediately look up and say to God, “I know. That was for me!”
JC – “…the world presents you with an endless series of problems. The relief you had anticipated is short-lived. [Isn’t that the truth – I referenced this possibility in the first blog and here we are back in the fray of life’s happenings.] Soon your mind is gearing up again: searching for understanding (mastery), instead of seeking Me (your Master)….As you look to Me, you gain awareness of this precious Peace. “ Despite the trauma of what turned out to be an emergency last night, I felt Your Peace during it all, when I remembered to call on and lean into You.
Power is based on Matthew 18:19. Joyce writes, “If the devil can get you to agree with him, you will have what he wants you to have, but if you stay in agreement with God, then you’ll have what God wants you to have.” Don and I agreed in prayer as we waited to be called back last night and then as we waited for them to set up the room with the laser. God went before us and was with us!
Prevail 219 – “Though we have to be careful not to always attribute blessing to obedience or poverty to disobedience, it is important to notice that something changes in the land and in our lives when we sincerely seek the heart of God.” I just got a new book, All In, written by one of the men who used to be in Don’s Bible study group, Anthony K. James, that encourages us to not live in “partial devotion” to God. His, and many other resources out there, help us in the journey to deeper faith in and relationship with God.
