The Eyes Have It

Nostalgia is a thing. I’m not going to lie. Looking back is something we all do at one time or another just to figure out what´s ahead. (Maybe that’s future nostalgia?) It might sound contradictory, but in hindsight, it makes all the sense in the world. 

From introductory relationships with your grandparents to the building blocks of time with our parents to finally starting a life with someone whom you never saw coming... From our childhood to our school days and then into early adulthood, we can find ourselves enamored by someone and then, finally, in love with that one and only. I can’t help but reflect on all those moments when I felt love wrapped up in the glance of one of God’s angels. 

Many of you have heard of the first meeting between my wife and myself, but for those who haven’t... It happened on a bright Tuesday morning in September 1963 – the first day of my sophomore year in high school.  

Only God could have planned our meeting so perfectly.  

She and her cousins had moved during the summer from the city (Downtown Charleston) to West Ashley. While I was harassing her cousin, she came over to ask him a question and then left to rejoin her new neighborhood friends while waiting for the first bell.  

With his admonition still in my mind, I processed through the day’s classes till fourth-period Algebra. There, sitting toward the back of the class, was the same beautiful girl who had smiled at me earlier that morning through the most incredible green eyes I had ever seen. I could write volumes of pages between here and there. But I won’t bore you with the romantic minutia. 

Suffice it to say, I still am made weak in the knees when she smiles at me with that twinkle in her eyes. 

The years passed; we married; I was drafted and processed to Vietnam. Between my first and second deployments, my wife and I spent about five months in California until my next assignment came. It was during that time we received word that our first son was due. My heart rose and fell with the news because I wouldn’t be back in time for his birth. I had to satisfy myself with the reality of our friends being in place with our families when the time arrived for his birth.   

John was delivered after many long hours and he still had enormous obstacles to overcome. He came home after two months in the ICU with countless years of hard work ahead to achieve “normalcy.” He was not deterred. One of those moments came after several medical procedures and the efforts of medical professionals whose care and concern brought him to the fitting of his first pair of glasses.   

Fast forward... 

He was five when we took him to the optometrist to see how his newly prescribed glasses fit. He clung to his mom while the technician worked the frames to hug John's tiny face. We had seen the development of his eyes over the years from dark orbs dilated to let in as much vision as they could to the pretty pair of olive-brown eyes that lit up when he was able to visualize images along with everyone else. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment when his glasses fell perfectly in place. He turned to the sound of my voice and saw me fifteen feet away. He saw clearly enough to wonder why his dad was crying. A real sight for sore eyes. 

You may be able to appreciate how life came into view for John starting with those glasses.   

Fast forward again...   

To almost ten years to the birth of our second son, Brandon, and an era of constant bright-eyed experiences for our family. 

The moments surrounding Brandon’s arrival were remarkably more normal and positive than those his brother had experienced. With John’s first visit to see his mom and his new brother, there came another milestone. John was allowed to sit in the bedside chair and hold his brother. His eyes were not big enough to take in Brandon, metaphorically speaking. He  marveled at how small his brother was, the size of his feet and hands, the whiteness of his hair and the blue of his eyes. The smile on John's face during that moment is a forever treasure.   

The bond between them has only grown. It became a long line of special moments because everything Brandon saw John do became a goal for him to achieve. As Brandon aged, John’s daily lessons and his treatments only provided Brandon with other examples for him to imitate.  He wanted to be just like his big brother.  

John’s swim lessons morphed into lessons for him. John’s homework was duplicated from a differing angle. John´s positive study regimen led Brandon to approach his lessons with a positive bent. 

Brandon couldn’t see any obstacle too big because he saw his brother challenging himself to do everything he was presented with. His eyes were opened to do what others would find daunting.  

He practiced John’s homework from the other side of the desk (literally learning to read and write up-side-down). He practiced piano while John took lessons in the music department at Charleston Southern. He auditioned for movie roles with his brother and had the good fortune to interact with several actors and actresses before setting his own direction.   

I could go on and on...  

Because both Jeannie and I are so very proud of both our boys. God has richly blessed our family and continues to open our eyes to the richness of those blessings. The truth of the matter is, I wouldn’t have been blessed with all this without my incredible wife, John and Brandon’s mother. Seem apropos for this week, right? 

To all our dear friends, to our beloved family and to you, our loyal followers, we wish you the happiest of Mothers’ Days. We hope you see all the blessings that are yours to behold. 

~ David Joyner