Seeing Beyond Sight

By Peter Lundell –

How can you see better after going blind?

Janet Perez Eckles has. She’s one of the most cheerful and enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. I got to know her at a writer’s conference, and afterward I waited with her at the airport until her husband came. Were they ever in love! She’s a constant inspiration.

At age 31 Janet lost her eyesight to Retinitis Pigmentosa, a hereditary disease that deteriorates the retina.

“I used to be a run-of-the-mill chica,” she says. “After going blind, I’ve gained insight about life, depth as a person, and I’m living with purpose.”

She’s obviously not glad she went blind, but through her faith in Christ, she has learned to see life better now than she did when she had physical sight. She naturally went through a period of despair and struggle. But she didn’t stay there. She knew she had to make a decision about how she would live. This is her key: “I’m able to find joy in the darkness.”

Where Janet lacks physical sight, she’s learned to discern unseen things more than most of us who see. She puts it this way, “I’ve learned to see beyond eyesight. God showed me that my blindness is a tool in his hands to show me how to help others see the best in life.”

She writes books and travels nationally and internationally as an inspirational speaker—alone with her cane. And she doesn’t seem to have time or interest to think about her handicap, because she’s so concerned about other people.

We all make choices about what we see and believe. Those choices determine everything else in our lives. What choices have you made—or could you make—to take a bad thing and grow something good?

PRAYER: Lord, take me beyond complaining about the bad things in my life. Whatever my personality may be, and I may not be like Janet, but I can turn to you and rise up and choose to see troubles differently. Open my eyes to do that. Lead me to take what is bad and from it grow something good, something wonderful.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV).

Crappy Situation

By Elaine James –

My Auntie looked down at her folded hands in her lap and got very quiet. I was at the nursing home. It was a recurring moment of disappointment. None of her three daughters had shown up for a visit.

She broke the silence with tears streaming down her cheeks. “They should be here. I’m lucky if one of them comes once a month. Am I being punished? Maybe I did something wrong. What if they never come again?”

The nurse came in to administer her depression medication. In the last year, she had been hospitalized several times and was put in a closed psychiatric ward for severe depression.

On this day, I had come prepared to give my Auntie a loving message. She said “Life is meaningless. I feel empty inside.”

I explained what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “Auntie, people will let you down but Christ never will. Your constant battle with sadness is not helping you get better. Are you willing to give this crappy situation to God?” I paused. She seemed to be listening, so I continued. “I know it stinks, but you can commit your life to Christ and allow Him to help you. His loving arms extended wide open on the cross. Jesus’ death was a free gift that paid the penalty for your sins. It opened the door to eternal life.”

She admitted “It never was explained that simple before.” She prayed and asked God to forgive her sins and admitted she needed a Savior. We prayed for her daughters and asked God to help her with her depression.

I dedicated some time daily for a 2-3 minute phone call where we did devotions together. Then I tapered down to every other day and eventually, once per week. Within a month of praying that prayer, two Christian women from the neighborhood started visiting my Auntie on a regular basis. They had much in common and enjoyed each other’s company. Together they read the word and prayed.

When we face such situations, clenching our fists and demanding life be fair is not the solution. It is a continuing punishment that leads to depression. But when we open our hands up to God, inviting Him into our situation, it leads to unimaginable resolutions.

“God looked and saw evil looming on the horizon— so much evil and no sign of Justice. He couldn’t believe what he saw: not a soul around to correct this awful situation. So he did it himself, took on the work of Salvation, fueled by his own Righteousness” (Isaiah 59:15 MSG).

“I Pity the Fool”

By Janet Morris Grimes –

“I pity the fool who _______.” These words were made famous by Mr. ‘T,’ the daunting, Mohawk-topped figure of the one of the television series The A-Team a couple of decades ago. For those that did not see things his way, he considered them ‘fools,’ and had the strength, ammunition, and where-with-all to convert them into submission.

He taught quite a few lessons with this method.

God, however, does not handle things in this way. Sometimes, on my hard-headed days, I wish that He would. I would love for Him to blast me with a fireball to redirect my path. I need it to be that obvious, because there are times when I borderline on being foolish.

God has harsh, but loving, words for fools. The book of Proverbs is full of them. “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in his own opinion” (Proverbs 18:2 ESV). My favorite is this: “Like the lame man’s legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools” (Proverbs 26:7 ESV).

God knew we needed guidance long before we did. He offers wisdom and points the way, but is our choice to accept it. It must break His heart when we repeatedly learn the hard way.

There are times that He seems to pull back, like a teacher during a test, to see what we’ve learned. Still, He always comes to the rescue when we call, even if our pain is a result of our own poor choices.

In recent months, life has taught me two great lessons about being a fool. First, God is not afraid to make a fool out of me, in the eyes of the world, if I pursue something that does not fall within His will, or if the timing is not yet right. This is a sign of love, correction, and telling me ‘no.’ It’s required of any loving father.

Satan also seeks ways to make a fool out of me. He stays on the prowl to find me at my most vulnerable state; alone and doubting. He longs for my story to story to end in defeat, for my words to become meaningless.

He would love nothing more than to make a fool out of me on a daily basis.

But He forgets that I belong to Jesus now, and am no longer available to him. Jesus now fights my battles for me, and sometimes, in triumph, I can almost hear him saying, “I pity the fool….”

PRAYER: Dear God, Your ways are not my ways. Thank You for that. Though I fail to understand, at times, where you lead me and for what purpose, I trust You. Guide my steps and protect me when I am at my worst.

The Goodness of Where We Are

By Jarrod Spencer –

What is a better time to celebrate than the present? When you start to add up all the blessings you have, you tend to appreciate life more and more.

The past has already happened, so to bring it to the future is only carrying unneeded baggage. This is usually easier said than done, especially when you are emotionally attached to some of the past baggage. I have negative memories of my childhood that I can remember pretty vividly. I have found that those memories may come with me, but how it affects my future depends on me. I can decide if it will permeate into other areas of my life, or I can try to release it and go on with life.

This has been a struggle at times, but it helps to leave the baggage in the past and move on with the future so I can also appreciate the present. Gigi Galluzzo has a quote that is poignant to the idea of appreciating the present. She says, “Life is indeed grander than ever, when we take the time to understand every bit of the goodness that exists right where we are.”

Have you ever been in search of something, then discover that it was literally right in front of you? I have, and it kind of made me feel like a foot at that moment.

That is similar to how we should react when we are caught looking backward and forward and not appreciating the present. Time is something you cannot take back. It is here for the moment but then it is gone. Moments add up to minutes which add up to hours. Hours add up to be days which add up to be weeks. Weeks add up to months which add up to years. To drift from one to the next can create losses in life.

I lost a friend recently to a fatal motorcycle crash. With no warning, he and his wife did not have the opportunity to share any final words together. They didn’t know that hours after they said ‘goodbye’ he would be gone.

May we all learn to appreciate the present as we never know how much future you will have in this world.

PRAYER: May I always appreciate the present, even in times I am in my valleys. Help me to see the good things, even when times are rough. You are the great Creator.

“Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8 NIV).

Giving Comfort in the God Zone

By Hally Franz –

Peer pressure is not just for kids. My own sister has inflicted considerable pressure upon me regarding texting. She is frustrated that I don’t yet have that capability with my cell phone. I am very content to keep it that way.

My husband and I recently purchased laptops for our son and me. My home computer is nearly seven years old, and we needed an upgrade. Ivan immediately came home and began using his laptop, excited to be liberated from the community computer. However, I have yet to open mine. The fear of some complicated log-on, download or set-up process has me stalled.

I am fairly proficient with a few computer programs, but I resist technology. I don’t join lots of sites and rarely make on-line purchases. And, are you ready for this? We still have “free” TV in our home.

Technology is not my area of expertise. It is not in my comfort zone. While it is hard to function in our society without using and sometimes even embracing technology, some people find it easy to avoid having a relationship with God. In a culture where many deem a smartphone a greater necessity than an hour in worship, we need to make it as easy as possible for others to connect and commune with believers and our Heavenly Father.

Do we take time to invite the un-churched into our church homes, encouraging rather than pressuring them to learn more about Jesus and His saving grace? When visitors enter our buildings, are we willing to patiently teach them about Christian concepts that may be totally foreign to them? Or, do we express frustration when they resist moving from their comfort zone into unknown territory?

The truth is that my computer competency will not enhance my prayer life nor study of His word. No high-tech communication devices or e-readers are needed. While it may be wise for me to expand my technology knowledge for success here on earth, it is absolutely essential for me to broaden my theology knowledge to ensure eternity in heaven.

Let’s help our brothers and sisters do the same.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to be easily approachable and welcoming to our church visitors. May they find it joyful, rather than stressful, to begin their own journeys of faith.

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,” (2 Timothy 2:24-25 NKJV).

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