John 9:1-41
Becky was a divine appointment through a website prayer request that I personally responded to. She had ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and her husband had progressive MS. We began to correspond and eventually met in person at church. I’d just lost a good friend after a long battle with cancer, and then went through cancer myself including surgery, chemo, and radiation. I felt a heart tug toward Becky, but knowing what she was facing from my own research and maybe because of what I’d just gone through I remember crying out to the Lord, I just can’t lose another friend! I can’t watch her suffer as I knew she would. I just don’t have it in me to become close to Becky–and I’m not sure I’m even equipped to be of any help to her.
All I can say is that God in his mercy heard my honest pleading and in spite of it, Becky and I started meeting for coffee. She wanted to know how she could pray for me and my family and I wanted to know more about her. I felt as if I had always known her and it wasn’t long before she could no longer drive and I found out they lived only minutes away. (another God thing) I visited often, and she became my mentor, confidante and prayer warrior. We became close friends. Very often diseases like ALS scare friends away because they are scary diseases! Eventually, Becky spent most of her day in a special chair, had full-time care from her sister and it became difficult at the end to even speak. Yet, she still prayed and the love of Jesus still shone through her. Her husband Bill ended up in a rehab facility for a time and my husband began visiting him regularly and they became friends.
Why do I share this story with you? Because blindness comes in many forms for different reasons. My fear and insecurity might have cost me the blessing of a very special friendship and all of the things I learned as a result. I’m so grateful that God was in control of my life (not me) and blessed me with a wise friend as close as a sister in spite of myself. Her loss was hard and I’ve missed her greatly and think of her often, yet that pain was nothing compared to the joy she brought to my life. Jesus healed the blind man, but we all have blind spots God overcomes and protects us from. I am forever grateful he didn’t let my blind fear cause me to stand in my own way of a great blessing! Her final words to me were you are my joy! She was mine!
Do you have any blindspots caused by your own fear or insecurities? Ask the Lord to reveal them.
Deb Hill