And Now I See

By Dana Marie

And Now I See is the story of great loss that causes eternal gain. In the process of losing her sight, the storyteller learns that life is filled with glorious riches that are invisible to the naked eye. Overcoming the fear of complete blindness catapults her into a life of compassionate adventure that carries her throughout the globe, serving, loving and helping others who may be struggling. Her strength emanates from her faith in God and the Bible. Through a variety of tests, some agonizing, others hilarious, her faith is proven true and right. The question is, “Where will the journey lead next?”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inspiring Voices
• Release date: Aug 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781462412785

Dana Marie

Dana Marie is a high school Spanish teacher who enjoys her work. Her students and colleagues voted her “Teacher of the Year” in 2019. One of her favorite parts at school is her recycle club, Project Smile. She and her husband and her students collect recycling on a daily basis; turn it in for cash and forward the funds to Smile Train. This amazing organization provides free cleft palate surgeries for children around the world. In addition, she and her husband are the proud sponsor parents of six children: two in Uganda, one in Zimbabwe, two in India and one in Bolivia. Dana has been able to physically embrace each one. Her heart is committed to their education and abundant life even in the midst of difficult circumstances. She has traveled to over forty countries, sharing her faith and hope in orphanages, churches, schools, hospitals and more. In so doing, she has met precious people of so many tribes and languages who have eternally impacted her life. For that, she is grateful. Her other passions include her family, sipping a great cup of coffee with mom or friends, riding bicycles with her husband and best friend, enjoying a morning walk and relaxing with a good book as the birds sing outside. Her love for Jesus and people compels her to share her stories in the hope that others may be inspired to an abundant life of joy.

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Copyright © 2019 By Dana Marie.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM.

Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-4624-1277-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4624-1278-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019910907

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 8/29/2019

CONTENTS

There is Something in My Eye

I Need a Filling

Reality Check

I Would Never Go to Church

Tin Cans and Bake Sales

Modimo wa Busa

Cow Tongue

Vladimir

Ding

Boasting in God

His Name

Pack Your Bags

Defended Wordlessly

A Visitor

When I Come Back

Save a Few Bucks

Yes

About the Author

THERE IS SOMETHING IN MY EYE

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A lthough I am certain that details of my childhood formed the foundation of who I am, I will begin my story at age 15. As a sophomore in high school, I had struggled with Type 1 Diabetes for nine years, taking insulin injections twice a day, visiting doctors periodically, and pricking my fingers to test blood sugars. I carried the mindset that my disease was arbitrarily unfair, feeling that I had suffered quite a bit and endured my fair share of hardship. I didn’t really wallow in sorrow but I did struggle with the reality of managing a disease. Living with this burden of disease became part of life, almost normal, like a comfortable pair of shoes. This comfort, though, was shredded when my younger sister grew gravely ill and had to be rushed to the hospital.

I remember my mom’s phone call, informing me that my sister would remain in the hospital for several days and that she had been diagnosed with the same disease that had plagued me for years. I hung up the phone and wept, knowing that I didn’t want her to deal with the same hurts that I did. I agonized. I prayed. I raised my hands and shook them at the heavens. I pondered the Sunday school lessons about God’s love. These thoughts flooded through my mind and fueled my grief with explosive anger. Yes, the God that my family had been learning about and worshipping could have kept this from my sister. He chose not to and this made me angry.

For days I carried this burden and ranted and raved against the God of heaven, questioning his goodness. This provided no relief and God did not yield to my demands, so I took a different approach. I bargained with him, hoping that He might think my actions noble enough to honor. I announced to him that I would gladly take a double dose of diabetes if he would just heal my sister. Of course, nothing happened as far as my eyes could see, as far as my heart could feel.

In the midst of these wrestling matches between reality and expectations, my normal routines carried on. I still had to go to school and help around the house, read books and take injections. I also began to visit my sister’s pediatrician who specialized in diabetes. The fact that there were now two diabetics in the household just crept into our routines, into our lives, and as a family we persevered. Looming over me, though, was the unsettled question about God’s goodness. My beliefs did not match my reality.

One typical morning I awoke, took a shower and returned to my bedroom to get ready for school. After clothing myself, I approached the mirror to put on eye makeup. I closed the left eye in order to wipe on the eye shadow and discovered that I had something blocking my vision. I rubbed my right eye and tried again finding the same blockage. I wiped again, thinking that a hair or something had fallen into my eye. No difference. I blinked and wiped harder and then ran out the door to my mom.

She immediately called my pediatrician and explained the situation. The response was, Dana has been getting her blood sugars under tighter control. It is common for the fluids in the eyes to adjust. We will take a look during her next appointment. This appointment was two weeks away, so for fourteen long days I blinked and wiped and sought to see out of the right eye. Nothing but a shadowy blur appeared each and every time.

Again I began to pray to the God whom I had previously raged against. I begged him to heal my eye and let me have a normal childhood. I followed regular routines at school and home but fear of blindness coursed through my teenage body like a torrential flood. I just wanted God to make it all go away. I begged and pleaded with the God of the Bible but received only silence. Waiting tortured me as the fear of the unknown enclosed around me. At long last the day of the doctor appointment arrived.

I entered the doctor’s office with great anticipation. We discussed my blood sugar levels, my eating habits, and my insulin dosages and finally, I reminded her of my vision problem. She approached my eye with a penetrating light bulb and gasped, You have cataracts!

Hindsight tells me that that would have been an easily solved complication. However, nurses ushered my mother and me upstairs to optometry. They probed and jabbed and thrust light bulbs everywhere. Doctors’ hands and ominous machinery surrounded and engulfed me. Fear taunted me and terror filled the room with foreboding as the medical staff