Seeing

January 20, 2018

Last week when I had my annual checkup with the eye doctor last week, he told me for the second time that I had the beginnings of cataracts. Not enough to warrant any immediate action, but it’s the first shot across the bow of an engagement to come that promises to be interesting and intense. I didn’t think any more of it till this morning as I was driving to my grandson’s basketball game. The sun was bright in the sky, in itself a rarity in Western New York; a patchwork of snow-covered fields and brown woodlots stretched before me as I crested a hill. Turn of the century houses in all states of repair dotted the landscape, and I soaked it all in as I drove. 

I’ve written recently on any number of subjects that have crossed my mind, but it’s been awhile since I’ve focused on gratitude, and I’ve subsequently noticed my joy has diminished somewhat.  So as I drove, I thought of sight and seeing. I am thankful today to have seen the faces of my grandchildren as they woke up this morning, to have been able to navigate past the daybed in the back room on my way to starting a fire to warm the room for Abi sleeping on it, all without tripping or stubbing my toes. I am thankful to have been able to open my Bible and see the words conveying life to me, and to be able to look into the eyes of my wife and see love reflected back to me. I could go on, and in my mind and heart, I am doing so, giving thanks for this marvelous and miraculous gift of sight.