“ …Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God” Job 37:14
Another thought that I’ve had related to eyesight is the blindness toward injustice in the world. A blindness that I myself have been guilty of before my time in Haiti. Sad to say but if it were not for the earthquake here in Haiti I probably would still be blind to its injustice. Now I know different, I see the devastation at hand, I see the faces, hear the stories and hold the hands. What does it take to get people away from their self centered lives and really see what is happening in the world? And for those that are aware of the injustice, what has to be done for action to take place? No longer can I turn back to my previous life of ignoring the injustice and not feel ashamed.
Recently I have made myself aware of the faces of Haiti, particularly their eyes and I’ve began to wonder about the person behind those eyes, their story and what it entails. I feel as though their thoughts are ascertained through their eyes, but what is it that has distorted their sight and what will it take for the light to shine again? About a week ago I there was a man that came to the clinic to see the doctor. When I first called his name he did not answer or respond which isn’t unusual for us American nurses. Then I called it again and with the help of another Haitian they directed me his way. There he was sitting all alone away from everyone as if he was an outcast, wearing shoes that don’t fit,a pair of shorts and oversized tank-top that looked like they haven’t been washed in ages. I really did not think twice about what he was wearing, unfortunately it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen this. Then he stood up and my eyes were immediately directed to the vesicles that covered every part of his body; I’m not sure what it was, possibly HIV or syphilis. Here we were together he afraid to even hold his head up and me with my head held high walking with him into the clinic. I could feel the eyes of the other Haitians looking at us so I’m sure he could too. I greeted him with a smile like all of my patients and took his vitals.
This man’s eyes displayed emptiness, fear, sorrow, helplessness,desperation. My heart immediately feels for him. I may never know exactly how he was feeling or why he felt that way. But I can at least be an example of God’s light in the midst of whatever darkness he is feeling. So I did my best to be that example, and was blessed to see his smile and receive a thank you as he walked away.
And the children, so many I encounter everyday, so many eyes filled with so many emotions and some just empty. Then I ask myself, what would my eyes say if I were caring for my little brothers at age 5 like a mother, if I never heard the words I love you, if no one was there to console me when I was sick or hurt, if there was no one to share a smile with me, if I didn’t know when my next meal would be, if I saw sexual intercourse from infancy because my family all slept in the one room we had. I think about the fifteen year old girl who showed up at our clinic in the back of a truck covered in blood holding her dead mother who had been hit by a car in front of me. She was left with no mother and 4 younger siblings to take care of. Her eyes spoke volumes.
Is it their fault that their innocence is kidnapped from them at such a young age? No of course not, they are born in a culture where you need to be tough for survival. There is no room for vulnerability or affection. They carry the responsibilities of an adult at such a young age. The sad thing is when I think about the children at home I realize how quick our culture makes them grow up and how bad the children themselves want to be adults. Where here in Haiti they would die for the chance to experience being a child. When I share moments with these children, I try to allow them to be nothing more than a child at heart. To laugh, play, and even work with them. Surprisingly it does not take much at all.
So, where do I start to open my eyes? Where do you start? I challenge you to look a person in their eyes and see the emotions.
Matt 6:22-23
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness