There was nothing different about the way she stood up and asked for prayer this morning than the others... But something about her prayer and praise petition opened my eyes. "I would really appreciate it if you all could pray for my vision. I have been loosing my eyesight in my right eye for years, and more recently in my left eye too. I had surgery this week on my left eye and I anticipated it to be dramatically better, but it is worse now than it ever was before. I can hardly see. I would just like prayer as this makes it quite challenging to take care of my children and do the housework. But I want to learn to trust God more, and believe that He still has a plan for me in all this..." She was young too with several little ones... Her little girl gently led her down the isle when the elder invited people up front to pray. My mind starting spinning as I contemplated all the limitations lack of sight would bring. What would it really be like? How would I feel if that was me? I wouldn't be able to cook for my family anymore. I wouldn't be able to ever see the face of family or friends again. I wouldn't be able to journal. I would never be able to climb the ridge behind our home on my own, and have that precious time alone with Him. I wouldn't be able to see the sunset He paints on the sky or the majestic Milky Way arching over our house. Life would be nothing like the one I know. But sometimes I wonder if we are the ones suffering from blindness. We can see with our physical eyes, but maybe we're missing a different kind of vision. Because I can spend delightful hours in the kitchen making food for my family. I can see the faces of the people I love. I can pull out my journal and find my clarity in writing. I can climb to my favorite prayer rock and revel in the stillness and aloneness with Him. I can gaze at the beautiful colors He paints in the sky, and the glories on display at night. But do I ever stop to realize what a huge privilege that is? Do I really know how blessed I am? I will admit that after months of health challenges myself, I do appreciate the little things so much more than I did before. Each ounce of energy given back is a gift, and I praise Him. Every time I jump out of bed in the morning, every time I return from a walk with a spring still in my step, every time I can spend hours cooking and cleaning without needing to sleep the rest of the day to recover, a wave of gratitude washes over me. But I sense I'm only seeing a glimpse... That my gratitude is only touching the surface of all the gifts I've been given. Sometimes He takes things away temporarily so we will see their true value. But should He have too? Shouldn't our hearts be bursting with gratitude already? Because really, "What if you woke up this morning and all you had was what you thanked God for yesterday?” The things we take for granted are often some of our greatest gifts. And we pass by them and don't even notice. But now I see... or at least, I'm learning too. And I think He just might have had to use a sweet blind mother to open my eyes afresh .
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Hannah Rayne20. Lover of Jesus. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Servant. Fan of the kitchen. Graduate of Masters of Biblical Counseling.
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