Open My Eyes That I May See

Spiritual blindness hinders our ability to be affective

A 67-year-old woman scheduled for routine cataract surgery in November thought it was just dry eye and old age causing her discomfort. But the real cause of her discomfort was much more concerning: 27 contact lenses, stuck in the woman's right eye in a "blue mass."

Rupal Morjaria, a specialist trainee in ophthalmology, said the woman hadn't complained about any visual trouble before the operation. But when the anesthetist at the hospital started to numb her eye for surgery, he found the first cluster of contacts. Morjaria said, "He put a speculum into the eye to hold the eye open as he put the anesthetic in, and he noticed a blue mass under the top eyelid."

Eventually they found a mass of 27 lenses. "We were all shocked," Morjaria said. "We've never come across this." A representative from the American Academy of Ophthalmology said he's seen patients have one lens stuck, but never 27. "This is one for the record books, as far as I could tell," he said.

The woman had been wearing monthly disposable contact lenses for 35 years, but it's unclear how long they had been gathering in her eye. Sometimes when she would try to remove a contact from that eye, she couldn't find it. The patient had just figured she'd dropped it somewhere, Morjaria explained, but it was actually getting stuck in her eye with the others.

Mark 8:22 “And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.”

Overcoming that darkness often does not happen in the blink of an eye

Mark 8:23–24 “And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.””

Spiritual sight is difficult to keep to one’s self

For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn't see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. "I never would have dreamed that yellow is so...yellow," he exclaimed. "I don't have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can't believe red. I can see the shape of the moon--and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is."

Mark 8:25–26 “Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.””

Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

Mark 8:22–26 “And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.””

1 Peter 1:3–12 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Song: Open My Eyes That I May See

The words and music were by Clara H. Fiske Scott and first appeared in Best Hymns No. 2, 1895. Some hymnals show the writer’s first name incorrectly as "Charles" or "Chas." Clara H. Fiske was born December 3, 1841, in Elk Grove, Illinois. In 1856, Clara attended the first Music Institute held in Chicago by C.M. Cady. She went on to teach music at the Ladies’ Seminary, Lyons, Iowa (1859). Clara H. Fiske married Henry Clay Scott in 1861. In 1882, Clara H. Fiske Scott published the Royal Anthem Book, the first volume of anthems ever published in America by a woman. Clara Scott was greatly encouraged by Horatio Palmer. She died June 21, 1897, in Dubuque, Iowa, thrown from a buggy by a runaway horse. In 1895, the first auto race held in America, sponsored by the Chicago Times. It was held on Thanksgiving Day at a distance of 54 miles with an average speed of 7.5 mph. J.F. Duryea won in a Duryea automobile. Packard later bought out the Duryea company.