By Dr. James L. Snyder
One of the most valuable gifts in life is the ability to see. I cannot imagine a day I cannot see.
I was having some trouble with my eyes about four years ago, and I had to go to my eye doctor and have cataracts removed from both my eyes. Before I had the surgery, I was really having a hard time seeing things. It wasn’t easy to read or work on my computer.
After the cataract surgery, I was blessed to be able to see very clearly. What a blessing.
Seeing clearly can also be a curse, especially in the mirror in my bathroom. If only you could look in my bathroom mirror and see what I see, you would go crazy. I know I have.
Before the cataract surgery, I looked in my mirror and I could hardly see anything. After the cataract surgery, I looked in my mirror, and oh boy, what I saw was horrific.
That was about four years ago, and several months ago, I started having some difficulty seeing. I have these things called floaters, which have scared me on several occasions, especially when driving.
I was watching television with The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, and I started swatting. Looking at me, she said, “What are you doing over there?”
“I’m swatting these bugs flying around my head.”
Staring at me for a few moments, she finally responded, “Don’t you know there are no bugs flying around your head?”
If anybody knows anything, it is The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. I was swatting at things that didn’t even exist.
About four months ago, my right eye seemed foggy. That fog seemed to get thicker each day. Finally, I had to go to the eye doctor, and he diagnosed what I had and scheduled me for surgery on that eye.
Leading up to that surgery, I was having some difficult times. Especially at night, it was challenging to drive because I couldn’t see much out of my right side. I was also having a hard time working on my computer and reading books.
The only benefit I had was in the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, everything was so foggy I couldn’t really see anything clearly. That in itself was a blessing. Looking in my mirror and not seeing my face clearly was a happy beginning to my day.
When The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage would ask my opinion about some work she was doing, I could only smile and say, “My dear, I really cannot see very clearly so I’m not sure what you have in your hand.”
During those foggy times, there was a blessing really attached to it. I can walk around and not see anything that was around me. I could go to a store, walk around, and not see anybody I recognized.
I was going to enjoy those foggy moments as long as possible. Yes, there are moments of agitation when I couldn’t actually read something, but those were few and far between.
I was going to milk those foggy days as much as possible. Enjoy something while you have it because there will come a time when you don’t have it. I knew in two weeks, all of that fogginess would disappear. Then, I would really begin to see things.
The only area I was concerned about was going into the bathroom and looking in the bathroom mirror. I have asked The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage 100 times if I could remove my mirror in my bathroom.
She would shake her head, laugh, and walk away.
The only difficulty I didn’t have was being able to hear. I may not see very clearly, but unfortunately, I can hear.
Trying to make an excuse for not hearing her, I said, “My dear, I don’t see what you’re saying.” I hid a little chuckle under my breath when I said that.
Looking at me, she said rather sternly, “It’s not your eyes I’m concerned about it’s your ears.”
I tried to get away with it, but being who she is, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is very hard to trick. Not that I haven’t tried, I just haven’t succeeded.
I went to the eye doctor, had my eye fixed, and I can see very clearly now.
It’s amazing what those doctors can do. I walked out of the doctor’s office being able to see as clearly as I’ve ever seen before. My sight is now back to normal.
As The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage drove me home from the eye doctor, she said rather cheerfully, “It’s great that you got your sight back, and now you can see everything. Are you happy about that?”
I told her I was happy to see very clearly. Then I told her, “There’s only one more thing that needs to be fixed. That is the mirror in my bathroom. Can you do something about that?”
The look she gave me revealed that it wasn’t going to happen; I didn’t have to hear it. I knew it from past experiences.
Later on, I thought of a Bible verse that explains this. Proverbs 20:12, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.”
God has enabled me to hear and see, and the combination is a great gift to our lives. Each day, I must appreciate this amazing gift.
Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com
