Our Christian Perspective
Looking For Lena Horne:
How The Lord Comforted Me While I was Temporarily Blind.
By Brother James
The story of Jesus’s healing the blind man, located at John 9:25 is apropos for what I have endured of late. The King James Version (KJV) of God’s word reads, “25 He [the blind man] answered and said, whether he [Jesus] be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
During the period of May 5, 2014, and January 19, 2015 (Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday Observance Day), I have had no less than four major eye surgeries on my right eye, my strongest eye!
As I endured these surgeries and their attendant recovery processes, the Lord kept, healed and comforted me. Certainly at this juncture, someone such as Bill Maher of the “Realtime With Bill Maher” Show on HBO might suggest that I am a fool for attributing the success of my surgeries to God. I must admit that I do like Bill Maher’s Show but disagree with his anti-religious stance. Bill Maher is an intelligent man, one who is an avowed non-believer in God. He or a believer of minimal faith or even a nonbeliever might ask, “’what about the role of the surgeons and nurses involved in your operations. Why do you not give them credit for admirably performing their designated medical procedures”? To these individuals I would respond, “It was the Lord, not I who selected the very best glaucoma and detached retina surgeons and their entire staffs to attend to me. It was definitely the Lord who put me in the extremely capable hands of all the medical professionals who examined me and consulted one with the other about the complex issues of my case! It was only the Lord who insured that all the staff members of both my eye surgeons are always so professional, genuinely committed to their jobs and are truly a joy to encounter each and every time I have an appointment with my Doctors. It was the Lord who insured that the right people were on duty the days the surgical rooms were thoroughly cleaned, the surgical instruments were meticulously sterilized, the proper dosage of anesthesia was administered and those who were involved in the registration and all the preliminary and post-surgical where my surgeries were so thoroughly and miraculously performed! God had placed all the right people at the right place and at the right time to insure the success of my eye surgeries!
I sincerely thank Him/God for being the Chief surgeon, the chief orchestrator and the ultimate guide of the hands of everyone who touched me before, during and after my eye surgeries.
But Brother James, how does this part of your story about having eye surgeries relate to your title of this writing, Looking for Lena Horne?
I am ever so happy you asked me that question! You see, I have a four foot by sixteen inch collage of notable African American entertainers, writers and civil rights leaders from the 1920’ through the 1960; s adorning a wall that leads from my kitchen into my family room in my home. Each of the photographs is black and white and is four by six inches in terms of their dimensions. In the frame closest to the family room the photograph of Lena Horne appears top row center.
After my surgery in September of 2014 my vision was diminished to the point where I was legally blind. As my sight slowly came back, I would look at the collage but it was the photograph of Lena Horne that seemed to stand out like a lighthouse during a fierce storm on a very dark night. It was this photograph of Lena Horne that I looked at each day as I had the habit of eating in the family room in front of the big screen television. After each subsequent eye surgery I would always look for the photograph each morning and all through the day as I entered my family room. I came to understand that the Lord was using this four by six inch photograph of Lena Horne to let me know that all would be fine, everything related to my sight would be better than ever.
It has often been said that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things! Well in my case God clearly showed me that He will use something as simple as a black and white photograph of Lena Horne to let me know He loves me and as the word says, is with me always.
I get great comfort each and every day as my sight improves as my prayers that my sight would be restored to its optimum level is reaching fruition and that is why when I awake each day, I thank God for all He has done in my life, is doing in my life and will do in my life before I go downstairs looking for Lena Horne.
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