Wednesday, December 13, 2000

"and recovery of sight to the blind" Luke 4:18

Nellie Palmer once shared their home with her husband. They lived just across the street from the "then" Methodist Church of North Fond du Lac. That was long before my appointment to two United Methodist Churches: Community of North Fond du Lac and Salem of Eldorado.

When I met Nellie Palmer, she was already living on the far south side of Fond du Lac and attended church regularly with the aid of a driver. For you see, she could not. Nellie was near totally blind. With tests it was discovered that she had irreconcilable damage to her retina nerve. With each passing month her eyesight became increasingly poorer.

For all of the six years I spent in this parish, never did I hear a complaint from Nellie Palmer. She lived in her own house, cooked her own meals, corresponded with many friends by letter - hand writing all of her own letters.Often she needed letters sent to her to be read aloud, but with the aid of "raised-lined" paper, using her finger to find the line, she would then carefully and precisely pen her own letters in response.

When we shared a meal, and a plate of food was set in front of her, she would be told that her meat was at "twelve o'clock", vegetable at "three", potato at "seven" and her salad was in a separate dish at "eleven o'clock". Thus, by imagining the face of a clock, she could locate her food and eat. Her home furnishings remained the same, so she could always "read" what room she was in by their location.

Sometimes, as each of us have witnessed, people would speak slow and loud to her as though being blind also meant one was dense and deaf.

As a child and a teacher of public school, a Sunday School teacher, and a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, she memorized scriptures and poetry, reciting each with ease. Nellie never let her blindness get in the way of humor and laughter, telling a story, or writing poetry. She even would write new songs to familiar tunes, following after Charles Wesley.

She penned these words, reproduced in "Bits of Philosophy in Rhyme: Book II", written between 1985-1988:

          Blindness is a lonely state.
          I'm trying to accept my fate
          And it would help if you would show
          That you're somebody that I know.
          Just say 'Hello' and give your name
          And you will find I'm just the same.
          I'm still alert, I live alone
          And I can still use the telephone.
          I'm still a person with a mind.
          I didn't die, I just went blind.

You see, Nellie Palmer was not able to see with her eyes. But she depended on God and could surely see clearly with her soul. --DH

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