Could You Handle It?

What if you were blind?

What if there was no way for you to see the world that you live in, and yet the whole world can see you?

Could you handle it?

Michelle can.

Michelle is a friend of mine who is blind, and she is one of those individuals who walks into a room and brings a smile to every one's face. She has a strong faith and will talk openly about the struggles and successes of her life. I have found myself listening intently to her stories for they are filled with hope and courage. She makes other people better and that is a talent that very few have.

We were in the middle of a group discussion when she made a contemplative comment:

"You know...I’m just blind. It's not that big a deal."

Then another woman who was sitting next to her, leaned over and said:

"You might be blind physically, but I'm just blind."

Wow.

That is such a profound statement on the nature of our faith. We can spend our whole lives loving God and then tragedy strikes. Suddenly, we throw the covers over our heads and shut out what we know to be true. It is easy to have faith when life is going well. It is easy to believe when the children are healthy, the jobs are good, the food is plentiful, the pain is gone, and the sky is blue when we wake up. We will shout it from the mountain tops that, "Our God is an awesome God!” when the job promotion comes through and the bank account begins to grow. We will gladly tell everyone we know that they should turn their life over to God, while standing at the gas station filling up our SUV's and Luxury cars.

What happens when Life gives you that swift uppercut? The one you don't see coming. The one that is given by that evil little guy who taps you on the shoulder in the middle of the night and gives you a sucker punch when you open your eyes. How does that Faith feel now? Is God still awesome? That person who pulls up next to you at the gas station, do you still want to tell them how good God is? How does that potluck at church taste now? Is God still the priority in your life?

"You might be blind physically...but I'm just blind"

I hate being sucker punched...especially by that little evil guy in the middle of the night. The biggest problem that I have is I can't stop it from happening. The act of taking a punch is a natural part of life and there is nothing I can do about it. There will always be death, disease, heartache, anger and hate...I'm sorry...but it's true. The big issue is whether or not we accept God as our Father even when the bad things of life happen.

The answer lies in how Michelle lives her life. She is blind, and lives her life in a completely different dimension than most of us. Yet, she lives her life just as we all do. She gets up in the morning, eats her breakfast, goes to the bus stop, gets on the bus and rides into downtown. She gets off the bus, enters her office and begins her day. She moves through God's world completely trusting in the senses that He gave her. Of course, she has a choice each day as to whether or not she actually heads out into the world. There is no one who would fault her for deciding on any given morning that she would rather stay in bed and give into the cards that life has dealt her. She could easily ask for the world to wait on her and coast through life.

Instead...she trusts.

She chooses to trust in the world that God has provided for her.

She gets up each day and allows God to lead her. She has told stories of standing at the bus stop and hearing arguments that are going on around her. She tells of being fearful that something would happen to her and she would be powerless to stop it. She does not run. She stands, trusts, and gets on the bus. She knows that she has the love of God in her heart and that trumps any fear that she might feel.

We lack faith. We do not allow ourselves to trust that God will take care of us in all situations. God is our Father. Do we honestly think that our Father will not stick by us when life gives us those nasty uppercuts? The bad things happen and we lose our minds! We run around trying to fix the problems and just sink farther into the mire of despair.

Michelle is teaching us every day what it means to have faith. We all will be dealt cards that we don't want, but we have to include God in the darkness of tragedy. God is not a giver of success.... He is the comforter of Life.

Michelle, you might be blind, but you see life better than I ever will.