Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Make the heart of this people calloused;
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”

• Isaiah 6:9-10

And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeingvisions, they stumble when rendering decisions.

• Isaiah 28:7

“When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.

• Hosea 9:10

I went to see the eye doctor the morning that I wrote this.  Ophtalmologist in that I have a few issues to deal with.  It took longer for the eye dilation drops to take effect than the rest of the visit.  I guess that is about the usual, but I hardly waited.  The young lady who tested my vision was quick.  The dilation time was about the shortest that I have ever experienced.  Then they called me into the office.

The doctor came in and shined bright lights into my eyes.  He said that my new lenses after cataract surgery a few years ago were looking great.  No sign of cataracts.  No sign of glaucoma.  No sign of macular degeneration.  My diabetes is under control, for the most part.  And he never mentioned the elephant in the room.

Each year, when I go in for a check up, he fusses and complains that my dry eye is getting worse.  This time, I had worked hard to remember to use the warm compress daily and use the artificial tears more often.  I even set an alarm on my phone in the mid afternoon, when my eyes are starting to get tired.  I do the warm compress then, even when I am on a roll with my writing.

I guess that the only moral of this story is that if you follow doctor’s orders, it works some of the time.

When you forget half the time, you usually get the doctor complaining.

And it was not like he forgot.  The chronic dry eye is in the charts, and, in past years, he had so many cracks in the cornea, he would have difficulty seeing the lenses that he put in.

So, whatever problem that I have with actually seeing has little to do with the eyes.

As for the title, the saying is “The Ayes have it”, meaning there was a winning margin in ‘yes’ votes.  In a way, I could say the ayes have it because the eyes do not have crack due to dry eye.”

But I even mentioned to the woman selling glasses on my way out.  She mentioned that I winced when I came out into the bright retail area.  But I was lucky in that it was overcast and driving home would not be a problem.

I said, “No, I am blessed.  On Sunday, I was teaching a Sunday school class, and I opened with prayer by saying that I wanted the front to move through on Tuesday (about a month ago).  My eyes would be dilated, and it is difficult even with those filters that they give you.  So, the fact that it had started to rain, I was being blessed.  I did not have to put up with the bright lights and in walking across the parking lot in the rain, I would take care of my shower for the day.”

She snickered and said, “You won’t need to bathe for another week.”  We both laughed at that.

As for the first Scripture, it is not good enough to hear what is said, but we must hear, take it to heart, turn from our wayward ways and do what the “doctor” says for us to be healed.  I have been seeing vivid dreams lately.  And no matter how much time that I spend studying and reading and then writing, I still make mistakes.  God is not finished with me yet.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.