Happy Endings in Sight

As much as I enjoy creating worlds with bearded leprechaun babies, ninja gnomes, and Nephilim leading men . . . real life has its own share of adventures that can take me from joy to terror in the span of a phone call.

This past Saturday my daughter alerted us that our two year old granddaughter was being taken to the ER with a cut on her eye (yes…in the eyeball) from a piece of wire that snapped back and hit her. My husband and I jumped in the car and drove the two plus hours to the hospital to meet up with our daughter, son-in-law, and our newest little six week old granddaughter.

We found them in the waiting room surrounded by their pastor and his wife and other church friends. What a welcome sight for us to see the love and support of their church body there with them! There was a baby and a toddler in the mix and they stuck around while we waited for the surgeon to come out which was waaaay past the little ones’ bedtime.

At last, over two hours later, the surgery was finished–a scary, infinitely long wait that was supposed to last only 15-60 minutes. The doctor took our daughter and SIL into another room and walked out ten minutes later leaving them in tears. The prognosis was a tough one: loss of sight in her eye was a real possibility–a 50% likelihood, in fact.

Our little angel was going to have to move to another hospital with a pediatric specialist. At least one, and maybe two, surgeries were expected this week. A cataract had formed and she would lose her lens. Once inside her eye, the retina would be assessed more thoroughly.

Seeing her tiny little body in the hospital bed tore me up. Her right eye was patched and taped, her arms sprouted tubes, and lights glowed from her toes and fingers where sensors attached. She was scared, drowsy, and confused.

A long weekend of waiting ensued. Long story short, after looking at Dallas, Fort Worth, Shreveport, and Houston for a specialist, the original surgeon reported the good news that the best pediatric surgeon around would come to that hospital and visit our little girl! No transfer necessary. This man does eye surgery on PREMATURE BABIES! I know…incredible skill, right?

The doctor would not be in until Monday evening (the night I’m writing this). In the meantime, we all shared our burdens with our friends, our churches, and on Facebook. The support and prayers have been massive–as well as felt–as we all have had a peace in our hearts despite the looming possibilities for her future.

We believe that nothing happens that isn’t first sifted through the hands of our Lord. As Christians, our faith isn’t built on a wistful hope that everything will always have a happy ending. No way. Bad things happen to everyone. No one is immune from pain. John 16:33 guarantees us “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” [Emphasis mine].

The question is, does our pain have a purpose? Can a loving God allow such a tragedy to strike a little girl? Well, strike it did. Can an all-powerful God heal this little girl? Most definitely! But, what if He chooses not to? We’ve all known people that have prayed for one outcome and gotten another.

Interestingly, my daughter tearfully reminded me of a true story I shared with her when she was young. I had actually been thinking about that story as well but didn’t feel I should bring it up with the pain so fresh. The story went something like this:

Little girl at bedtime: Mom, does God always answer our prayers?

Mom: Yes, dear, He does.

Little girl wakes up the next morning, runs to her mirror, and takes a good look at herself. She begins to cry.

Mom: What’s wrong, honey?

Little girl: You said God always answers our prayers!

Mom: Yes, yes He does.

Little girl: But I prayed that God would give me blue eyes last night. My eyes are still brown! He didn’t answer my prayers.

Mom: Sweetheart, “no” is an answer.

Fast forward twenty years. The little girl becomes a missionary to a Muslim nation. She must blend in with the culture. She wears a head covering and a veil, which only reveals her eyes.

Her brown eyes.

If her eyes had been blue, she could not have blended in to that society to share Jesus with them. She was very thankful that God said ‘no’ to her prayers.

So…

First off, as a mom, what a great comfort it is to hear my daughter’s sound perspective in the midst of her pain. Secondly, we have had to ask ourselves if the bigger picture of what God might be doing was something we can choose to be thankful for, even if it may not be what we want in the immediate scheme of things.

Yes. Yes I think we can lay those expectations at His feet, even while we earnestly ask Him for healing right now. He understands that juxtaposition. Matthew 26:39 shows Jesus in the garden, hours before his arrest and crucifixion. “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup [His impending, brutal death] be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'”

What a great Savior we serve! One that is so familiar with our weaknesses, our pain, and our desire to be delivered.

Although we cannot see the bigger picture, the longterm trials, or the short term pain, we do know that God is good and we can trust Him. I’m happy to report that we did–just tonight–get some wonderful news from the specialist that came to see our sweet granddaughter. She is not endanger of losing her sight!

To all of you that prayed, that shared our posts and asked others to pray, we thank you! God truly does hear us and His peace most definitely sustains us in the midst of trials. We have felt your prayers and our little blessing has been touched by the Creator’s hand.

I leave you with my daughter’s update! It may be a long road ahead but it looks like one that includes keeping her eyesight. We are so thankful for this answer to prayer. It is indeed a happy ending to a plot twist none of us expected! We are praising God!

We just met with the surgeon and he will not be operating tomorrow. We *will* operate in a couple of weeks but her eye is healing so well, he is not concerned with getting to it immediately. This will be a long road of eye appointments throughout her life. The retina looks to be ok, but we will know more with time.

When asked about her vision, the Dr. said it wouldn’t be 20/20, to which we responded that we were only concerned with sight being *possible*! And the doctor is very hopeful it will be. W is doing well, she is ready to go home (she keeps telling us she’s done & not sick), and has never eaten this much junk food in her entire life. 😂 God is answering prayers, He is good, and we give Him the glory for these encouraging possibilities!