Spiritually Dead

Recently, my (Aimee’s) grandmother has undergone a lot of changes.  She had cataract surgery on both eyes over the last couple months and then, most recently, she got new hearing aids (she had been without any hearing aids for several years).  Her cataracts had progressed so far that although she could see to get around, she couldn’t read anymore, she could barely make out what was on the television (some of the time), and she often didn’t see things in her path that she would bump into or even fall over.  Her hearing was so bad that we almost had to scream for her to hear us sometimes, and there were some people that she couldn’t hear at all, no matter how loud they tried to be.  She was miserable.  She didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything outside the house because she couldn’t see and she couldn’t hear.  The last 6 months or so have been very difficult as both her conditions and her mood got worse and worse.

These last couple of months have been almost the opposite.  Within a day or two after the first surgery on her eyes you couldn’t wipe the smile off her face if you tried.  She kept coming to wherever my mother and I were to announce something new that she was able to read.  She could read the newspaper.  She was able to read the newsticker across the bottom of the television screen.  She was beaming as she stood in the kitchen reading a portion of a newspaper article.  You’d think that she had just learned how to read and had never read anything before that moment.

Then she got the hearing aids.  Again, announcements were free-flowing in our house.  She could hear our dogs bark before, but now she could hear the little tingling sounds of their collars as they walked around.  She could hear how noisy the traffic on the street really was.  Apparently we weren’t exaggerating after all.  She informed me that our clock in the hallway is quite loud.  She also informed me that the television was too loud when I was watching it.  There’s still been plenty of smiles.  I’ve enjoyed walking up behind her now and then and whispering something in her ear, just to have her turn around and answer me, showing me that she heard what I said.

This all got me thinking.  I was reminded of the line:

          “I once was blind, but now I see.  Was lost, but now I’m found.”

How many people walk around Spiritually blind and deaf, not seeing or hearing the everyday blessings of God?  Not seeing or hearing the Good News?  Becoming more and more moody with each passing day?  Refusing to go places or do things because there is no joy for them?

It’s sad to think about.

Still sadder to think how much we can do to improve their conditions, but we don’t do it.

What do you think?

Do you know any people like that?

What have you done to share your joy with them?

Or have you?