New Eyes

He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. ~ Deuteronomy 10:21

Tonight I took a walk under night’s gigantic inky cloak. The stars twinkled and the moon shone opal-bright from its crescent cleft in the darkness, and my new eyes took it all in. I’ve worn glasses or contacts for over 20 years, but not tonight.

Not anymore. Thank you, Lord!

I had LASIK eye surgery a few day ago, and my eyes are nearly back to normal. A new normal. I’ve had some dryness and still have a few red splotchy marks around my cornea, but those side effects will disappear in the weeks to come. Lubricating drops come in handy throughout the day, sweet little beads of moisture that aid the healing process and soothe my eyes.

A few people asked me about the surgery. “How was it?” “How do your eyes feel?” “Were you scared?” I never had so many inquiries about my eyeballs, so I wanted to share my experience.

My in-laws and two sisters-in-law already had LASIK and they highly recommended it. Trevor and I talked about LASIK quite a bit and he began putting money away monthly two years ago, so I had in the back of my mind that I’d have LASIK sooner or later.

The initial appointment tests to make sure I can even have the procedure.  My eyeballs passed with flying irises, qualifying for IntraLase ® Blade-Free, All-Laser LASIK. From the clinic brochure: “a special device creates a hinged flap of thin cornea tissue which is then gently folded out of the way. The laser re-shapes the underlying tissue, and the doctor replaces the corneal flap over the treated area where it bonds securely, without the need for stitches.”

(Hold on, I’m going to pass out.)

There are two types of procedures offered at this particular eye clinic, and IntraLase ® was the “better” of the two. Hooray for healthy corneas thick enough so the eye doctor can slice them!?

Eye don’t know about this. Eye’m just not sure I can lay there while someone laser-beams the windows to my soul!

There was an opening in the surgery schedule that next week, so I plunged in and made the appointment. The day of surgery came quickly and my patient, sweet, attentive mother-in-law came with me. The eye clinic we chose is in Sarasota, so I was going to have the procedure then stay at my in-laws’ house overnight to recover (without two curious, pointy-elbowed, pokey-fingered monkeys nearby).

Like with my two C-sections, I prayed for peace beforehand, and God reminded me of Isaiah 26:3. As I went into the first room to have my corneas made into flapjacks, I listened to the doctor’s soothing voice and prayed, “He will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” I give God all the glory because I was able to lay there quietly, unflinching despite being well aware what was going on.

Flapjacks!

The first part of the procedure took about 20 seconds per eye, and I was out of the room before I knew it. Once the flaps were cut, it felt like I was wearing goggles filled with water. Thankfully, the second part of the procedure was also minute-quick, and I was grateful for the doctor’s reassuring voice as my vision blurred under the red, green and yellow lights of the laser. Strange noises, a little perfectly laser-aimed cell-sloughing, and floppety-flop flapjacks back on. (Times two.)

Then those wonderful words…”That’s it, we’re done!”

They taped my eyes and sent me off with instructions to keep them closed as much as possible the rest of that day. My doting mother-in-law took over and we headed back to their house. My eyes were scratchy and burned slightly for about two hours afterward, and God’s amazingly intricate creation – the human eye - began healing itself. My tear ducts kicked in, leaking constant tears to alleviate the pain. I collapsed onto my in-laws guest bed.

Was it easy? No, but it was worth it. Did it hurt? It depends on your pain threshold. I’d say not too badly, but there was a good deal of discomfort afterward, and there’s a psychological side to having your eyes sliced up that only my faith saw me through.

I’m grateful for my friends and family who prayed for me, for such kind and attentive in-laws, and for a God who created us with the ability to accomplish something so intricate on such a complicated and important part of the body.

If you have any other questions about LASIK surgery, feel free to email me. I’d be glad to answer as best I can.

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. ~ Psalm 119:18

Dragonfly Eyes

One of my favorite signs of spring is the dragonfly.

I enjoy their fast-flying, insect acrobatics. They hover around the yard and zip past the car while stopped at a light. They circle our turtle pond on air stair-steps and gracefully land on the bush outside our kitchen window, wings still for scarce moments.

Then they’re off again.

Dragonflies are nature’s tiny helicopters, zig-zagging over green grass and hovering effortlessly in mid-air. They’re brightly colored beacons of warmer weather. I’ve seen red, blue, green and multi-colored dragonflies in our backyard and neighborhood.

Being the mom of two boys has softened me to the insect world, and dragonflies are one of my favorites (it helps that they don’t bite, sting, or buzz in my ear!).

Here’s a little more info about dragonflies:

A dragonfly is an insect with large multifaceted (compound) eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are some of the fastest insects in the world, and they’re valuable predators that eat mosquitoes and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, and rarely butterflies. They’re usually found around lakes, ponds, and wetlands because their larvae, known as nymphs, are aquatic.

As I read about dragonflies, I pictured their large, shiny eyes. Compound eyes. Have you ever tried to get very close - or touch - a dragonfly? Cole and Chase have tried many times. It’s nearly impossible unless the dragonfly has a broken wing or it’s lifeless and jammed in the car headlight.

Why is it so difficult to touch and catch them? It’s those amazing compound eyes.

 Dragonflies have one of the most elaborate eyes of any insect. Their compound eyes can pinpoint the motion of prey several meters away, even while the dragonfly is traveling fast. Their eyes have hundreds of thousands of tiny lens-capped optical units, called ommatidia. Each ommatidium has its own cornea and lens for brightness and color, and they’re packed side by side into bulges that create a wide field of view. Dragonflies don’t see detail because compound eyes provide poor resolution. But their compound eyes create a large angle of view that’s perfect for detecting any movement around the insect.

The multifaceted eyes of the dragonfly can’t focus on the myriad details in nature, but they can focus perfectly on movement. Their compound eyes zone in on the slow sweep of a mosquito or a loudly buzzing fly. A large angle of view warns them of danger in the shape of a swinging Little Tykes bat or a hungry Mockingbird.  

But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord; In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute. ~ Psalm 141:8 

Are my eyes on God and His movement? At times I focus my eyes on minute details instead of God’s steady, faithful movement in my life. When my eyes drop away from God my field of view narrows down and the daily, frantic flying about consumes me. Details overwhelm. I begin to lose trust because I’m staring at the wrong thing, and I put myself in spiritual danger.

Lord, help me bring my eyes back to You so I can focus on You and Your perfect, faithful movement.

When we focus on endless, trivial details we lose sight of the bigger picture of our faith – the amazing, grace-filled way God moves in our circumstances. We begin overlooking His faithful provision, the sweet encouragement He offers through friends and family, and His many blessings.

We need dragonfly eyes for God.  Because when our eyes are focused on God and His faithful movement in our life, we can fly fully for Him.