Well, in just a few hours I will be boarding a plane to Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights, NY. Over the next 19 days I will receive and train with a new guide dog. It’s hard to believe that it has been 10-1/2 years since I made this trip to receive my first guide dog, Duncan. But, here I am, packing and preparing to leave my family for almost the entire month of June! I’m really looking forward to having a guide dog again. The freedom to take a walk around the block by myself or stroll through the park with my family with no need for their assistance is something I’m looking forward to. It’s just a small piece of independence I get back thanks to a furry, 4 legged, tail wagging partner.
As I have been preparing to leave I have been reflecting on life and living blind. I’m a Christian, I believe that Jesus is my Savior and I believe that His body was broken for my healing. I preach this truth. I walk this truth out in my life, yet I remain blind. How do I reconcile what I believe and profess to what the reality of my life is, the reality of being blind?
1. God is Sovereign. Who He is doesn’t change just because I am not healed. Check out this article that list 7 Bible verses that explain God’s sovereignty.
2. I will continue to contend for the miraculous to manifest in my life. His Word says that Jesus is my healer (Exodus 15:26, Matthew 15:30, Hebrews 13:8, His body was broken and bruised for my sickness and disease (Isaiah 53:5). I still believe and each day I confess to the Lord that He is my Healer and that today would be a good day for a miracle.
3. And IN THE MEANTIME, while I trust and wait on the Lord, I will celebrate and give thanks for His provision along the way. In Exodus 16 we read about God’s provision of manna for the Children of Israel while they traveled in the wilderness.. They were headed toward the promise of God, but in the meantime, while they traveled, he provided for them daily. I’m sure they probably got a little tired of manna, but it was what they needed to sustain their life. I can’t say that if I could choose I’d pick being blind over having sight, but as I do life blind I recognize that God provides daily. In the meantime I thank God for assistive technology, friends who love driving me places and for furry guide dogs – just a few of the things that make me feel less blind.:)
I don’t have the answer to why some are healed and why some are not. I don’t have the answer to why I can pray for someone and observe the miraculous in their life and yet, I continue to be blind. I choose to live each day with thanksgiving for the many, many blessings in my life. And let me just be straight, I can think of many other diseases that would leave me much worse off. Being blind isn’t really all that big of a deal.
Follow me on Facebook so you can get the latest updates on my new guide dog! I will be introducing him or her to everyone via FB live sometime later this week!
Stay tuned…….