Sunday, November 2, 2014

Open My Eyes, Lord!

Tonight I was watching a Little House on the Prairie episode of when daughter Mary lost her eyesight. It focused on Mary going away to a school for the blind, and how she learned to cope and lead a fulfilling life. I remembered reading in one of the Little House books that their mother told Laura to be Mary's eyes for her. Laura learned to describe in detail the things she saw so that Mary could imagine them. She painted pictures with words for Mary to see through her eyes.

It occurred to me that this act of kindness and compassion for her sightless sister more than likely contributed to Laura Ingalls Wilder's remarkable writing skills that have left readers spellbound for generations. You might say Laura learned to see with her heart, so that Mary could do the same.

A little while ago I happened to be outside at sunset and was glad I had my phone to snap a picture. The clouds were glorious, tinted an orangey-pink against the turquoise of the twilight sky. In the bat of an eye, the colors had drained from the sky, leaving only grey masses like ancient battleships sailing into the horizon.

If we don't open our eyes to the marvels of our surroundings, we fail to see the everyday miracles that God performs so faithfully. And if we don't open our mouth in an effort to reach out to others, we are missing much. Yesterday we attended a funeral, and as people gathered afterward for a fellowship meal, my husband introduced himself to a stranger.

"Hi, my name is Howard Summers," he said as he reached to shake the man's hand. The man then gave Howard his name, to which my husband responded, "I knew people by that name in Mississippi."

"What part of Mississippi?" the man asked, and Howard replied, "Picayune."

"Picayune!" the stranger exclaimed.

"Do you know where that is?" my spouse asked. The man said they had lived there 20 years! They had moved away only a few years before we left there, after our living there 20 years! What are the odds? These people were from western Oklahoma and were only here for this relative's funeral. We had a nice visit recalling familiar businesses, people and places and interests we had in common. Small world!

But a beautiful world it is, full of beautiful people! As a son-in-law gave the eulogy for the departed yesterday, he said, "We all know what a great guy John was, but I think there are a few things about him you didn't know." He listed a few interesting tidbits, then said, "You probably didn't know John was a romantic." He told what a devoted husband our friend was, and concluded by saying, "They celebrated their anniversary every Wednesday!"

I'm thinking, "Here was a man who had learned to see with his heart!"

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