My day began with awhile ago with the alarm clock disturbing a very deep sleep. Then next thing that led me to "Alert and Awakeville" was the aroma of the Door County Chocolate Caramel Truffle Coffee coming from our kitchen. Now it is time to write.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I recently had eye surgery and this step was the last one in an adventure that started in March. It has been a slow process to restore my vision. I praise God for providing skilled surgeons, nurses and technicians who accompanied me through this journey. Through each step, it was important to protect my eye after the surgeries from being bumped or scratched. With this last surgery the precautions included wearing a metal eye patch/shield at night so that anything I did in my sleep would not harm the repairs. For instance rubbing my eye is still a big no no.
So each night before going to bed my wife Rene takes the shield and washes it. Once it is dry I hold it in place and she applies tape to it keeping my eye covered and protected for the night. Once I have stumbled to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee in the morning the shield needs to come off and the first in a series of 12 eye drops starts. One of the eye drops has a bite to it but all in all this procedure is pretty easy to follow.
Rene purchased some medical adhesive tape that is supposed to be sturdy yet easy to remove and kind to the facial area. I have news for the company who made this tape. They should have their CEO try a little on his or her face at night and then have the joy of removing it. I will volunteer to help them with the removal. The process is not life threatening but the tape could be used to ship packages around the world without them opening. I won't be doing this much longer than another couple of weeks or less and to be honest it is bearable. I tried two approaches to the tape coming off. I tried slowly peeling it away and reminding my wife that less is best with this stuff. Slowly just seemed to take too long and had the same sunburn like impact and sting. So I tried the "man up" approach and went at removing the tape with one swift tug. That resulted in a "waxing effect" on my eyebrow.
What does this mean to us and what application can we find for life here? In order to add the drops each day that shield has to come off in the morning. Yes there is some aggravation and a little sting to it. But it has to be removed. In life we find that things come and go and some things have to be removed from us for us to move on and be blessings to others. For instance, losing a job. I have a friend who just had her job eliminated from the corporate structure. This is a painful event. But for many years she has been a blessing to many, many, people in the same place. I can tell you with complete honesty that she is the type of person that you want to see at work. But I also believe that she is needed elsewhere so she can be a blessing to a whole new group. Someone else needs to meet my friend and as painful as this job loss is she will be a blessing to someone she hasn't met yet.
Each day as I remove the tape I am one day closer to being fully recovered and in this journey I have met many new people who have blessed me in many ways. I also have been in the waiting room of a clinic when someone needed a kind word or encouragement and God placed me there at that time to be able to pass on that word of encouragement or a little assistance. Had I not needed help from a medical team I would have missed a few experiences along the way where I was used to be a blessing and be a sounding block for someone who just needed a listener.
We don't always see what God is doing during each step of the day, week or year but we must trust that He knows the journey He sent us on. And if we allow it and embrace the change, He will show us the path to take. So remove the tape that holds you back from whatever God has planned for you. His plans are best. If you are sitting in a clinic today, my prayers are with you. But you are there and you might just be there at the right time to be a blessing to others. Do you pray for your caregivers? Do you greet them with a smile and kind word? Are you looking for work to not only have a pay check or also to be a blessing to others?
Marty
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