Broke Eye Baby

My daughter has been wearing a patch on her eye for over a year and half.  She has a few eye issues which resulted in a need for glasses and patching at age 2.  Most of the time she puts on her glasses and patch without struggle and goes about her business.

But, every once in a while she tells us that she doesn't like wearing the patch and that she really doesn't want to put it on.  

And when she does that, my heart breaks a little.  

I know she doesn't like wearing the patch.  I know her eye feels sweaty when she takes off the patch at the end of the day.  I know it's not fun to pull out a little bit of her eyebrow every time she rips off the adhesive patch.  I know she would rather use her better eye instead of covering it to strengthen the weaker eye.  

I want my daughter to be able to wake up and see the world like her sister--without the need for glasses or patching or visits to the eye specialist throughout the year.  

I want her to be able to play on a playground without having to visit the eye care center to straighten out her frames when she bends them. 

I worry about her going to school and having children tease her.  

But, I know that she must endure all of this if she wants any hope of gaining better vision when she's older.  

Therefore, she must patch.  There's no other option right now.  

This morning was one of those mornings in which she didn't want to patch.  She brought her bag of patches to Chris and started crying and said, "I don't want to put my patch on" in that awful, pitiful voice.  Her face was all crumpled and sad and I watched as my husband reminded her of her need for the patch as he gently put it over her eye.   

In that moment, as I watched Chris and Lily, I thought about the rest of us and the daily patches we put on.  

"I didn't want my spouse/parent/friend to die."

"I don't have enough money to pay the bills."

"I hate my job."

"Why did that accident have to happen?"

"I don't like where I live."

"I didn't expect my relationship/marriage to end up like this."

"I don't understand why I have to endure trial after trial after trial."

I imagine in those moments our Heavenly Father looks at us and tries to explain to us, His little 3 year olds, that even though we can't understand it, we must endure the patching. I'm sure His heart hurts a little as He reminds us that we must straighten up, dry our tears, and wear our patch in order to strengthen our eyes.  He knows we don't understand it.  He knows it doesn't make sense to us to cover our good eyes when we could use them now. His heart hurts for us when we cry out to Him about the confusion of this life.

But, if we never endure the patching, we will never be able to see like He sees.


Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart. . .  


Comments

  1. Thanks Amanda. This is beautiful.

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  2. So true. . .we all have our patches, but somehow it is harder if it is a kid. :) Hang in there and thanks for sharing!

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  3. I think I just cried a little...seriously. Thanks for that reminder.

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  4. Aww, my cute little lily!
    Thanks for making me cry this morning.
    I love you all.
    Stacy

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  5. OHHH this just breaks my heart and I cried when I read this whole post....but it was absolutely awesome!!

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  6. Hi. I just started following your blog today under the recommendation from my "Google reader". I wanted to thank you for this posting. All to often we just need to sit back and really reflect on those "patches" that God gives us. Pray that He will give us better understanding and in a lot of ways be thankful for them. My husband and I are going through some things in our lives right now that could be considered "patches" and your posting really hits home. In a good way. So, again, thank you. I was definitely meant to read this one!! :)

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  7. Amanda, this is just what I needed this morning. I had a rough day yesterday and I'm ashamed to say I let Satan steal my joy all day long. He won't get it today. :)

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  8. @Maria and Lynn--thanks :)

    @ the Boykin family--Welcome and thank you for your kind words!

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  9. Your daughter must endure the patch, yes, and your daughter is your patch, strengthening your spirit as you endure her suffering. And life would be so much more fun and easier without patches.

    This was a brilliant post, thank you for sharing your insight.

    Do you think heaven is without patches, is our spiritual growth finished upon arrival?

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  10. Good stuff and your girl is a cutie patootie!

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  11. I just stumbled upon this post and I must say, it was absolutely wonderful. It's really touching and it's something everyone can relate to.

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  12. Wow, you wrote this for me. I'm struggling with some news this week. Thanks for the insight.

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  13. That was incredibly well-said my friend. Lord help us to understand what it means to really see!

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  14. wonderful post and so true! It is easier to see others patches then it is to see our own. That is why God not only reminds us of the need for these but surrounds us with people that can help us put on and endure the patches. Thank you for this.

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  15. Very nice post. My son wears an eye patch also. He is only two so he doesn't quite tell me in words but I know he doesn't like it. Thank you for the comparrison to how God sees us. I thought of it the one day when he was having a fit and wondered if that is how God saw me.

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  16. I just stumbled upon this post and your blog... the picture of your sweet girl caught my eye. I, too, have a daughter who wears glasses and a patch. She started at 6 months (she is 8 1/2 now). I love how the Lord showed you a treasure of wisdom in your daughter's experience. It is so true that we often need to have our weaknesses exposed in order gain strength. Blessings...

    Christie

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  17. Hey there, after finishing a blog tonight, I clicked next blog and there was your sweet little girl with her patch! I happened to have just finished a blog about my little boy and his patch!!! I wondered if it wasn't meant to be for us to 'run into each other'!

    I know this will sound totally strange, BUT...I'm a writer and I wrote a book that's going through publishing now...if you're interested, I'd be glad to send it to you to read to your baby girl. I wrote it for my son so that he could explain to his classmates why he has to patch...since he's the only one in the entire school. :)

    Best of luck to you and your family. But, by the looks of it, you have it all under awesome control.

    Cat

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  18. P.S. After Dylin's class heard the story, they were really excited to see the patch he had each day. They were really understanding and they're 7!

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  19. Thank You Amanda! You and the girls have been such an inspiration to me. I'm really glad I ran across this message today, I needed it. I was so full this morning, but when I ran across this blog, and began to read it, I was able to release. I thank God for you and your family. I pray that he continues to bless you guys beyond measure.

    Tracy Knight

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