Signs

(A story about my journey through Sightlessness)

Why do we send flowers to people in the hospital? Why do we buy iconic keychains to expensive cars when we drive hoopties? Buying a jogging suit when you have absolutely no energy? What is that about?

Or as I did the other day… made a home visit and brought a beautiful pen to a young woman who had suffered a stroke and could not use her right hand…. Right now….

It is about hope… surrounding ourselves and others with signs and icons of hope (and encouragement), reminders of beauty (and grace); even planting flags of victory upon mountainous moments of seeming defeat.

Signs remind us to navigate the present circumstance in accordance with existing conditions to bring us to our destinations. Signs give us hope that if we pay attention, we can anticipate outcomes. Signs direct us to next steps.

Sometimes we miss the signs and don’t realize them until we have by-passed them. That thought came after I had received my sight. I came home from getting bandages removed following the second surgery. I remember the ride home, my riding companions nodding in excitement as I read billboards, saw colors and spelled out license plates of the cars that surrounded us. It was a glorious late fall day, and an entirely new day.

But it was when I arrived home that illumination burst forth on multiple levels. (Revelation came later. ) I went to my room to organize the various post-surgical drops I needed to apply. My mother turned on the television in the living room as she and my friend Cheryl chatted happily. I passed by the tv as I had so many times through the years, but stopped suddenly. I could SEE the screen… I could SEE the action, I could SEE faces! I remember going into my bedroom and turning on that television and sat in the amazement of not only sight (which can be limited), but the act and ability to SEE! I slipped downstairs, my mother and Cheryl still chatting with each other while lovingly and unknowingly giving me space to discover.

During my season of sightlessness, there had been a tremendous storm which knocked out some of my electrical devices (appliances and …). My insurance company replaced items such as televisions. My son Blake had one repaired and three replaced. I put the repaired one in my lower level office, yep, had an office and could not see. We purchased new televisions for my room and the family room, and had enough funds left over for a guest room television.

Blake researched and found an amazing deal for the family room tv. The new television was huge. Blake and one of the church deacons mounted it on the wall. I remember asking someone weeks later what the screen looked like and if the picture was crisp and clear. I was assured that the picture was wonderful, the images vivid.

That late fall day I went downstairs and turned the tv on and for the first time, was able to SEE it. I marveled at the screen and reveled in the experience, but it was months later that the Lord reminded me that He sent the signs long before my sight was recovered. He filled my home with new televisions when I could not see. Yes, I was grateful for the sound, but I remember “watching “ movies with my oldest grandson. Oh how I wished I could SEE the screen as we snuggled on the couch, happily munching our popcorn while he he described what I could not see. I usually fell asleep.

The point - God not only promised me that I would drive again, but he sent signs along the way of His promise to restore my sight. I could not see them and therefore did not recognize them., but the signs were there. Trust me, the signs are there for you. Be alert. Look for them.

And that is faith.