I SAW THE LIGHT

                                                                              Chorus 

I saw the light, I saw the light.

No more darkness; no more night.

Now I'm so happy no sorrow in sight.

Praise the Lord, I saw the light.

                                     --words, music by Hank Williams, Sr.

Today I had my second cataract surgery and lens implantation. I think the right eye (today's target) may have had the worst cataract. Two weeks ago the left eye was certainly a great improvement and I needed to wear sunglasses outside only few days, but in the house things were mainly normal, except I noticed the new lens showed colors decidedly different in color and intensity than the old lens--a 2-week psychedelic experience, sans drugs.

Well today was a decidedly different experience; I walked out, rather was wheeled out of the surgical unit in to blinding white light, even with dark sunglasses over my normal eyeglasses. Now my regular glasses also turn dark in light. I rode home with my eyes barely slit; thank God I was not driving.

I thought to myself as soon a I got in the house things would be comfortable, as the previous experience.  NOT! I turned on the fluorescent overhead lights and was blinded again. I almost wondered if I was going to have a Saul of Tarsus experience!

Tonight I am going out to check if some solar yard lights are working. I spent hours cleaning and renovating some old ones with new NiCad solar batteries. Most seemed likely to work. Hope the moon is not full or I may need my darkest shades again!

I'll be sure to let you know. The eye is dilated to the maximum and it takes almost 24 hours to return to normal. Brown-eyed persons have larger pupils which are opened somewhat larger normally than other colored eyes. My husband and neighbor, both brown-eyed, complained about this blinding light and still complain, so we are destined to look like three blind mice forever.

My left eye is coming around nicely in focusing, even with the brightness.

My opthamologist will call about 9 p.m. tonight to see how I am doing.  I may tell him I thought I was having a miraculous religious experience.

Truthfully, the power of the body to accommodate the changes in the health of whatever part of our body is not functioning in peak condition, has always amazed me. We can live without a kidney, one or no thyroid gland, ditto parathyroid glands, one lung, both eyes, both ears, tonsils, gall bladder, appendix, amputated arms/legs, male/female organs or body parts, even with some severe adjustments a pancreas, plus compromised livers, , lungs, brain, heart.

The Psalmist wrote, I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."—Ps 139:14 All I can add is AMEN!!!

In that melee of the preceding paragraphs is a word that is built into us both physically mentally, and specifically the eye: the phrase is :power of accommodation.

However, read through the definitions of accommodation . The word, adaptation comes to mind. Currently, I am functioning fairly normal for a near 75 year old woman, without, one kidney, one thyroid gland, female organs, appendix, tonsils,  gall bladder, slight hearing and eyesight loss, and my liver is not lobulated since the right lobe was resected. [The liver is the only organ that regenerates itself .] Our brain is integrated into adaptation, but we all adapt to some extent. You gotta wanna!!!

So I leave you with the Hank Williams Song, "I saw the light!" He is not my favorite country singer. In fact I am not into the older type country music. I would have to say this hymn was one of his better works.

I chose Vestal Goodman's version. We saw her last performance with Gaither Homecoming in December a number of years back. Her husband had died and she followed in his footsteps shortly the Christmas that same year we saw the show in Little Rock. I believe Vestal trained to be an operatic or dramatic performer, before hearing a inner voice calling; she used some of the trappings of her training in her performance: hence an item of her dramatic attire like THE HANDKERCHIEF.  Enjoy a marvelous voice that was joyfully led by an inner calling!