STILL BLUE
It had been four days since it happened. The man lay in a hospital bed in a room filled with machines pumping life into him. His eyes were closed. His mouth was closed. His body was still. Family members traveled in and out of his room, trying to be brave for each other and trying to keep up hope, but most were already grieving for their terrible loss. And then she came. She was his only child. It took her four days to get there by car. And for four days she prayed that God´s will be to bring her father peace. He was, after all, completely in God´s hands. There was nothing any person could do for her father now. She knew she would accept God´s will, one way or the other, and so she simply prayed for God´s grace and mercy. When she finally reached the hospital, she went directly to his room and to his side. She whispered to him not to worry about anything. She assured him that God would bring him peace. Everything would be all right. The nurse reminded her that her father was hard of hearing and that she should probably speak louder. But, the daughter refused the suggestion. She knew in her heart that God would let her father hear her.
She was at his side for only a few minutes when another nurse got her attention and told her that a phone call had come in for her in the waiting room down the hall. She smiled at her father softly, stroked his forehead and quietly left the room. With the phone call from her husband taken care of, she walked quickly back to her father´s room. Before she reached the door she looked up to see the nurse and her uncle smiling broadly and near tears. She walked into the room and the nurse, who just minutes ago suggested that she talk louder to her father, said “whatever it is that you said to him, keep saying it.” Apparently, as soon as she had left the room to take the phone call, her father opened his eyes and turned his head toward the door looking for her.
Now, here she was, looking at her father who was looking back at her. Through tears of her own, she recalled thinking to herself “his eyes are still blue.” She wasn´t sure why this was her very first thought. It seemed such an odd thing to think at the time. Perhaps she expected the beautiful blue color of her father´s eyes to be gone after the trauma that he had been through. But then it came to her that the brilliant blue light from her father´s eyes was the peace that she had prayed for. Her father was not scared. He was not in pain. He was content. He had received God´s grace. And, he was going to live. Ten days later, her father was completely off life support and on his way to recovery.
Her father lived for many years after this ordeal and although the remainder of his life was mentally and physically impaired, the light in his eyes gave testimony to all who saw him that God is still in the miracle-making business. Unfortunately, when the Lord came to take her father home, she was not by his side to say goodbye. But, deep down in her heart, she knows her prayer for peace was answered and that her father´s eyes had seen the glory of God. They would, therefore, ALWAYS be blue.
Michelle Osborn
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