Monday, May 13, 2024
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Doctor my eyes
In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.
My right eye sees only blurs, and today cataract surgery will eliminate those blurs. I hope. This weekend beautiful northern lights were visible in Illinois, where the sky was clear. An unusual sun flare allowed lots of Midwesterners to see them, something they had never expected. Some folks, after all, put seeing the “northern” lights on their bucket list and plan a trip to northern Canada or Alaska.
We didn’t see the beautiful colors in the sky here in Austin, where it has been cloudy for days and days. And for me they would have been blurry anyway. Although maybe that would make them even more beautiful.
At Mother’s Day dinner Margaret gave each of the mothers who were present a jeweled eyeglass necklace. The necklaces were gorgeous. Miles and Jasper each wanted one, of course. “My eyes are blurry,” Jasper exclaimed. “I think I need glasses.” He had heard me talking. That guy doesn’t miss a trick.
We ate Japanese risotto and salmon, along with minty meatballs, roast asparagus, and three desserts. It was a grand meal to finish off before I begin fasting for the 7 am surgery this morning.
Over the weekend we cleaned off our patio, got rid of the old outdoor carpet that had outlived its usefulness, and Margaret moved her plants from under our always-flooding-when-it-rains broken gutter to the other side of the patio. It looks great now through our big French door. The squirrels run along the fence, and the trees above are lush, green, full of birds. A small round table hosts whoever wants to sit outside. And lately, the weather has made that a happy possibility.
Yesterday I renovated my bedroom in preparation for Marc and Evie’s visit in two weeks. I found a way to get my golf clubs and bag under the bed, and suddenly the clutter that kept invading the room felt manageable again.
I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
Since I’m not supposed to lift more than ten pounds for a few days after the surgery, it felt great to get these two projects finished. Today will be my first day as an invalid, and although there may not many days like this, I hope to enjoy this one very much. “Keep your eyes closed as much as possible.” No problem. I’ve picked out several audio books to keep me company.
And there is always jazz. We got to church early yesterday, and the worship band played ten or fifteen minutes of fantastic soft jazz while we waited for the rest of the band to begin singing. I thought Dave Brubeck was up on stage, back from Brazil. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to listen to an hour of samba with my eyes closed.
Take courage, for I have conquered the world.
 (Acts 19, Psalm 68, Colossians 3, John 16)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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