1 QUOTE

“I believe my greatest spiritual asset throughout my entire life has been my failing sight.”

- Henrietta Mears

1 NOTE

Shawn Yamamoto is my friend from high school and our long-time optometrist. Two years ago, he saw some things in my eyes he didn’t like so he referred me to Dr. Bei, our local ophthalmologist. (I have learned that the difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist is the former manages common conditions, while the latter handles complex cases, diseases and performs surgeries.) This past week I had my annual eye exam with Dr. Bei. The tests revealed that sometime this past quarter I suffered a ruptured nerve in my left eye. I didn’t feel a thing. Dr. Bei said she knows it happened in the last 2-3 months because the blood trail is still present. This is an early stress signal to glaucoma. But she is confident we have caught everything quite early.

My medical exam this week made me think of Henrietta Mears. From her childhood, Henrietta suffered from being extremely near sighted. During high school, her eyes deteriorated significantly, to the point that it was recommended  she forgo college. They feared she would be blind by 30. But this did not stop Henrietta. She said that if she was going to be blind by 30, then she would study as hard as she could until she met blindness. “If I am going to be blind by 30, then blind I shall be! But I want something in my head to think about.” She attended the University of Minnesota. She overcame her poor eyesight by strengthening her concentration skills (let us pray for all the people scrolling their minds away out there), actively listening, and learning how to read an entire book, with complete book reports, in one sitting. Her intentional learning was a race against blindness and time. She reached a level where she could listen to a lecture and then immediately recite the lecture word for word. Denzel Washington, in The Book of Eli, plays a nomad in the post-nuclear holocaust on a mission to deliver a Bible. When he finally reaches the sanctuary leader at Alcatraz Island, Eli reveals that he is blind but has a copy of the Bible. He memorized it. Henrietta Mears would have loved this film.

Becky and I pray for physical, emotional, and deliverance healing all of the time. Sometimes the Holy Spirit dramatically pours out instant healing. Other times healing takes days, years, even decades. And sometimes, in his love and wisdom, the Father says no. Bad eyesight was a lifelong formation item for Henrietta Mears. Looking back, Miss Mears reflected, “I believe my greatest spiritual asset throughout my entire life has been my failing sight, for it has kept me absolutely dependent upon God.”

1 QUESTION

What is the greatest spiritual asset in your life, that keeps you dependent upon God?

Until Next Tuesday,

John