I am visually impaired. I’m unaware of the things going on right in front of my face. I’m only able to hear stories and picture things in my mind to make sense of them, never actually able to see the truth. These truths have always been here; I’m just not able to see them. I’m surrounded by a wealth of knowledge, but I'm unable to understand it. I am blind.
There is so much to be seen…will I ever experience it again? Some days I struggle with these thoughts of hope. Instead I rely on handouts from the people who pity me, or maybe it’s love, I can’t tell. Miserably sitting on this dusty roadside begging for my survival, I feel so helpless, so hopeless. I despise this blindness! Surely there must be more to this life…
As I listened to the chatter around me, I heard conversations of excitement. “I heard stories about him healing the blind. I heard he could do anything,” they said.
“What’s happening? What’s going on?” I asked with concern, hoping someone would respond.
“He’s here, he’s passing by!” they shouted.
Having a glimpse of hope, I quickly jumped to my feet and yelled, "have mercy on me!" “Shhh, keep quiet,” they said, but I screamed all the more, "Have mercy on me!" I believed He would hear me and He did!
He heard my cry and called me.
Overjoyed I clumsily made my way to him in a hurried gallop, throwing aside my coat, my only possession, what was once the source of my comfort and warmth.
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“I want to see!”
He put his hand on me and said, “receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
His words were true. Immediately I received my sight. He then asked, “What do you see?”
Shocked I whispered, “I see greed, I see depression, I see insecurity, lust, pride, and anger. And at the root of them all I see fear.”
“Do you understand why you notice these things?”
“Because I've noticed them within me!”
“Those things kept you from seeing clearly. They kept you from moving forward. Because of your faith, you’ve been forgiven.
Blessed are your eyes because they see. Now look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest. I want you to grow in your understanding of love. Put it into practice. Be devoted to one another in love. It must be sincere; your actions must be genuine. Your eyes have been opened…follow me.”
Whenever I have an occurrence of blindness I ask to see. I ask, I seek, I knock, fully believing that at any moment I will be given sight to understand clearly what’s been right in front of me all along. There is so much more to see, to learn and understand. Have faith—we can be healed. —Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
Love,
-WUL-
