Our Patients Inspire Us to Count Our Blessings
Posted by: West Georgia Eye Care Center in Frontpage Article on November 25, 2019
“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” – Henry Ward Beecher
Thanksgiving 2019 –
Next week, all across our great country, people will give thanks for their blessings as they celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The early American colonists and the Wampanoag Indians shared a historical feast in the Fall of 1621. That shared meal is commonly recognized as the first Thanksgiving celebration. Similar celebrations were held in different colonies and in the early states over the following 200 years. A unified celebration came in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that a national Thanksgiving Day be held every November.
Gratefulness is good –
Americans are certainly not the only, or the first, to recognize the benefits of thankful reflections. Native Americans had a tradition of recognizing the fall harvest with feasting long before Europeans visited the Americas. In ancient times, the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans also held feasts after the fall harvest and the ancient Jewish Sukkot commemorates harvest blessings. Humankind seem drawn to an understanding that gratefulness is a good thing!
True Joy –
It is easy to be grateful at West Georgia Eye Care Center. Our patients are a daily source of blessings. Privacy considerations keep us from identifying individuals, but their stories are rich with inspiration. A patient with a neurotrophic disease (ALS) no longer had the ability to place his glasses on his face, but he still had the desire to live life to the fullest and desired LASIK to give him more independence. Another patient’s wife faithfully accompanied him to his appointments for his glaucoma treatment for over ten years and upon his death she donated his eyeglasses and his sealed bottles of medication to bless someone else. Two Parents prayed in the hospital for God to give our doctors wisdom as they treated their premature twins and then returned with them as healthy toddlers to express their appreciation. It is a true joy and a blessing to be a part of stories like these and so many, many more.
