Monday Motivation: Living In A Miracle!

Friends

I have some wonderful news to share today, but before I do, I want to pause and remember our military service men and women. On this Memorial Day, let us remember the fallen, the countless men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. May we remember their courage and honor their great sacrifice to secure our freedom. Let us also remember their loved ones whose wounds still weep long after their time of loss has passed. May God supply the comfort that only He can provide, and let us as a nation never forget the price they paid on our behalf..

 

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“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”

Psalm 33:20 – NIV

 

When I was a young teenager, I set a goal of reading the New Testament straight through. As I read the stories about the miracles of Jesus, I remember thinking, “That happened then, but stuff like that doesn’t happen now.”

 

Oh, how wrong that young Anita was. Miracles still happen, and this week, I am living proof. In fact, I feel like I am living in a miracle!

 

My miracle has nothing to do with five loaves and two fish, nor does it involve calming a stormy sea, but it does involve recovery of sight for the blind. No, I did not receive a cure for my diseased retina, but I did receive the next best thing, and it came in the form of a piece of technology. This technology is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, but it is powerful enough to change my life.

 

Last Monday afternoon, I received a donation from the Low Vision Solutions Foundation, a donation made possible through the generosity of Mr. Beast, a Youtube billionaire with a passion for philanthropy. What is this donation? It’s called an Orcam My Eye 2. It is a tiny computer about the size of a tube of lipstick. It attaches to the arm of my glasses using a magnetic strip and has a camera positioned next to my eyeglass lens. The device is an optical character reader that is programmed to scan for a pointed fingernail. When the device finds a pointed finger, it is triggered to search for text and read it aloud using an automated voice. A single tap to the side of the device records an entire page of text, and the Orcam will begin reading from the upper left corner straight through to the bottom right. It will read signs, can labels, currency, menus and more! It recognizes colors and can be programmed for facial recognition. It is absolutely incredible!

 

For the first time in over ten years, I can read printed material independently! I can shop for clothing and read the price tags. I can search my pantry and find the canned good I need. I can read my own menu instead of asking my companion to read the options for me. When it comes time to pay the bill, I can pull cash from my wallet and know what amount of money I hold in my hand. Best of all, I can read a regular printed book, instead of being restricted to only electronic books! This may sound like small stuff in the grand scheme of life, but for me, this is huge! It is an extraordinary step back toward the independence level I once maintained, the independence stolen by a disease called retinitis pigmentosa.

 

On that rainy autumn day in 1993, I began a journey through blindness, a journey I adamantly wanted to avoid. In those early days, I pinned my hopes on a cure, praying that the research efforts would save me from the encroaching losses of the years ahead. By the time I reached age 50 and the pace of disease progression was steadily advancing, I was forced to make peace with the idea that one day I might go completely blind. Soon thereafter, I picked up a white cane for the first time and converted to using an iPad or computer for all my note-taking and correspondence. I gave up the feel of a printed book in my hands, making the leap to eBooks only. For a time, I could still make out the letters of a can label or the numbers on a price tag, but those abilities also gradually slipped away.

 

With the help of The Lord, I accepted that this was how it was going to be. God continually reminded me of His faithfulness, supplying my needs through His generous people, His merciful provision, and His reassuring Presence. He even met me one evening and gave me my life verse of Isaiah 42:16. Although I still battle fear and frustration from time to time, I have made my peace with my circumstances, believing that God will continually work it all together for good just as He has all along the way. I gave up that hope for a cure, accepting that such a miracle might occur for future generations, but not for me.

 

Little did I know that God wasn’t finished with my story. He is still in the business of making miracles, and this miracle was laid into the palm of my hand last Monday afternoon. Yes, it’s a piece of technology fashioned into existence by some brilliant engineering-oriented minds, but it is nevertheless a miracle. That tiny computer is providing recovery of sight to the blind. It is opening once closed doors. It is giving the visually impaired an incredible tool to promote independence, and that, dear friends, is indeed a priceless gift!

 

Friends, hear this good news! God can make a way where there seems to be no way. He alone can open the doors we thought were forever closed. That young Anita was so wrong. Miracles didn’t  just happen in the days of Jesus. Miracles still happen today. As I pick up my Orcam my Eye 2 and attach it onto my eyeglasses, I know God is smiling at the mile-wide grin on my face. God loves surprises, and this one is a doozy! Yes, friends, God still makes miracles, and today, I am living in one!  

 

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“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:21-23 – NIV

 

 

PRAYER

O Gracious Heavenly Father, how kind You are to us, how tender is Your compassion for us. You lead us through our rough places, all the while making them smooth, even when we cannot see You at work. You care about the little things in our lives. You show up with glorious surprises. Thank you, Lord, for the miracles You send our way. Thank You, Lord for this most special blessing You have sent to me.

In the Glorious Name of Jesus, we give our heartfelt thanks and praise,

Amen

 

Blessings,

Anita

 

-APS 5/29/2023