Tag Archives: Cornea Transplant

Worst Friend Ever

10 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Onisha

Ten days ago I was sure I was the worst best friend ever. My precious friend, Marie was scheduled for a lumpectomy in South Carolina and I wanted to be with her. We were winding up our time in North Carolina and were heading back to Florida in a few days. Our daughter, Rebekah had flown up for Christmas and we were all driving home together.

Shortly after my friend told me about the surgery, I made up my mind that I was not going back to Florida. We could fly our daughter home. I went so far as finding a flight that would leave North Carolina on the same day she would have left anyway. It was a do-able price. I texted our friend, Pam who blesses us by doing the “airport run” whenever Rebekah flies and she was available. Next I ran our upcoming appointments through my mind. Would I be missing anything important? Quickly I moved my hair appointment off the list then moved on to an eye appointment. I had a cornea transplant in October and was still on the monthly check-up schedule. Due to the holidays I was already two weeks late, so what were two more? As my hand hovered over the buy now button, the very soft voice of the Holy Spirit asked, “have you prayed about this?” Of course I hadn’t, I was reacting with emotion. Reluctantly I moved my finger away from the button.

“Lord,” I prayed, “you know how very much I want to be with my dear friend and I know she wants me to be with her. I don’t know why I shouldn’t be there but I am giving it up to you. Please give me your peace about this and could you do it by morning, there are only two flights left for Rebekah.”.

The next morning, as I prayed the answer was go home, no explanation. “Lord,” I thought, “you must have something very special planned for Marie, someone who can meet her needs far better than I could.”

My eye appointment was the same day as Marie’s surgery. I chatted with the technician as I went through the preliminary tests. We talked about having the flu and how badly it sapped one’s energy. She left me to wait for the doctor and I spent the time wondering if my vision in the transplant eye seemed fuzzy or was it just my imagination.

The first words from my doctor’s mouth after hello, was “I hear you had flu. Did you increase the steroid drops?”

I hadn’t even thought about increasing the drops or calling the eye doctor. It turns out I am having a rejection episode due to my immune system’s response to the flu. Thankfully, it appears I am in early rejection and with increased doses of steroid drops total rejection may be avoided.  Like pieces of a puzzle snapping together I understood God’s answer. Once again I am in awe of how intimately God knows and cares for his children.

Isaiah 49:14-16

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“Heaven is a Wonderful Place…”

15 Oct

I am especially pleased with this offering from DiVoran. It made my soul lilt. Today I am blessed to be undergoing a cornea transplant because someone  chose to give a stranger sight. I am humbled and do not take lightly the gift. I pray my donor is enjoying a” wonderful place” and I pray for comfort for their family. Onisha

My Take

DiVoran Lites

“full of glory and grace, I want to see my Savior’s face, ‘cause heaven is a wonderful place.”

When I was about four years old, I lived with my family in Crowley, Colorado, and I played with a little boy next door almost every day. One day when I was going over to his house I saw that the sidewalk continued and became a stairway. My friend’s mother was walking up it away from me. I called out to her, but she didn’t turn around. Sometime in the next day or so Mother told me the lady had died and I thought without emotion of any kind, “Oh, she was going to Heaven.” That’s absolutely all I can tell you except that I have never in my life had a doubt that Heaven exists and that I’m going there. Of course, since then I have been grateful to have an opportunity to take the step, which would guarantee it. When looking for a picture for this blog I saw something like the stairway again. I suppose someone else has seen it too.

Today I read in Streams in the Desert that a Christ Follower, who had a short time to live on this earth, looked at a mountain and said, “I may not see you many more times, but mountain, I shall be alive when you are gone, and river, I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea.”

Fancy that. Have you ever seen the Rocky Mountains? We will outlive them all.

I’ve done some thinking and reading about Heaven, but unfortunately my imagination balks at the grave. Right or wrong here’s what I believe.

I believe the crystal sea runs down from the throne of God.

I believe the walls are made of precious and semi-precious gems and the gates are made of pearl.

I’ve heard about the mansion next door to Jesus in a song.

I would imagine that if something is special on earth, like love, it will be a million times more wonderful in Heaven.

We could take all the small things that give us happiness and multiply their effects. For instance, I have a calico cat with soft fur and a loud purr crowding me as I write. One day when I sneezed, she even acknowledged it with a prrrt. I thanked her.

Looking at the garden I see lavender plumbago flowers and yellow orange cosmos backlit by the morning sun.

Yesterday Onisha came for tea and we prayed together and spoke in sweet communion. Both our days were better because of that friendly interlude.

I don’t mean to leave out family, I can barely express how much mine means to me, and though there is no marriage in heaven, I believe again you will love each person there a million times more than you could the best spouse and children on earth.

I wonder about projects. What work, what projects will we have in Heaven? We’ll be making music, for sure. Will I have a beautiful singing voice and be able to play the harp without working up calluses? God must store up absorbing and enjoyable tasks for us or he wouldn’t have given us a need for satisfaction through a job well done.

This I do not believe. I don’t think we turn into angels when we die. I don’t think we are reborn as cattle or even humans again, thank God. Hebrews 9:27

It’s probably better that I don’t know what Heaven is like. I might yearn for it too much and miss out on all the joys available to me in the now. I am content to wait, but still, sometimes I wonder.

“Whoever lives and believes in me (Jesus, the incarnation of God) will not ever die.”

John 11:26

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