The Sneak Thief of Sight: Glaucoma

Today, I went for my Comprehensive Eye Exam. It was quick and painless. The Ophthalmologist and her associates narrated the process from beginning to end, preemptively assailing any anxiety that would seek to present itself. At the final juncture of the exam, the doctor asked if there was any specific reason prompting my visit. I told her how, for the most part, I walk through this world without any thought of my eyes. But how months of soreness had  changed  that. Pain had demanded I pay attention to what I had been taking for granted: my eyes.

We don't want pain to have to demand your attention. We want to support you in making the health of your eyes a priority, such that you partner with licensed health professionals to proactively care for them. Without this awareness and commitment, you may be making yourself vulnerable to "the sneak thief of sight", i.e. glaucoma.  

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that gradually steal sight without warning. Although the most common forms primarily affect the middle-aged and the elderly, glaucoma can affect people of all ages. Vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve. This nerve acts like an electric cable with over a million wires. It is responsible for carrying images from the eye to the brain. (https://www.glaucoma.org/news/glaucoma-awareness-month.php).

Learn about the diagnosis, groups at high risk  and treatment of glaucoma:

Glaucoma steals one's sight, not as an intrusive outsider but, as an unchecked internal condition, whereby pressure builds up in the eye and damages the optic nerve. This damage compromises the eye's capacity to make use of light and, if untreated, leads to total blindness. First the peripheral vision is diminished and then it is gone-all of it!

And as I consider the stealth of this disease I hear instruction for us as we contemplate, not just the health of our bodies, but our spirits and souls. I hear, "Remember that you are spirit and soul inhabiting a body." 

We have an intangible core and an awareness of this core positions us to make wise choices based on the need to achieve and maintain its health. When we remember that we are not just flesh and bone, we make room for silence and solitude.  We invite the Great Physician to come and attend to us: to know our anxious thoughts and to restore unto us the joy of the salvation He has won for us.  (Psalm 139:23 - 24).

We understand that life flows from the inside out. (Proverbs 4:23). We read the symptoms and know to ask God to deal with the root. At the sight of darkness encroaching, we know the cure is the entrance of light.  And His Word is the entrance of light. (Psalm 119:130). We attend to the Word and expect that by His grace we will feast, not on ink and paper but, on His very presence. (John 5:39).

Happy temple building!

Take care. Bless many.