Opening my Eyes
This last week at Elias's preschool the theme was special needs. The kids got a very tiny taste of what it would be like to not be able to see. Of course a blind fold doesn't come close to the reality of being blind, however, it did begin me thinking what it would be like to be deaf and blind.
A lady from a deaf and blind ministry came and spoke to the kids about the special needs of the deaf and blind. The ministry runs an apartment complex and a church for people who are deaf and blind (that isn't deaf or blind, but deaf and blind). Sign language is the main way of communicating but because these people are blind one person signs and the other holds thier hands in order to feel the sign language.
Meeting these ladies got me to thinking what thier world is like. They don't hear or see anything. In our day and age of information overload they live quite oppositely.
And then I read an article, Light in the Dark, in Reader's Digest this weekend. Liz Hooker is mother of these three triplets who were born prematurely and are deaf AND blind. These little girls have never seen or heard thier mama. At 7 years of age the girls are slowly learning sign language and being able to express themselves.
These precious little girls are learning about the world only from touch. This has really gotten me thinking. How would I teach my child about God if I couldn't use words or pictures. How would I explain the truth of the gospel without being able to explain who Jesus is(someone they can't put thier hands on or see a picture of). Romans 10:14 has come to mind often, "But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" I have no idea if any of the Hooker family know the Lord or if they are trying to tell thier girls of the loving sovereign God who not only allowed but ordained thier blindness and deafness. Whether it's a "normal" hearing and seeing person or not, understanding the gospel is a miraculous work of God. I have often prayed since reading this article that the same God who graciously enlightened my heart to His truth would penetrate thier deafness and blindness and allow them to know thier loving creator.
3 comments:
This is a really neat post, Becca. I wish that my kids and I could have been there to meet the deaf and blind people.
God would have to be extra creative in order to reach their hearts. But He has always been pretty good at that.
I just also thought of John 20 when Thomas believed after seeing Jesus, and Jesus says "blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." It seems kindof applicable.
Hey Becca,
That sounds like it made as much an impression on you as Elias.
Ps I DO love you, - didn't know if you would want a link on my page...sheesh. Go look now, ok?
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