Perspective

A penny is relatively small, but if you hold it close enough to your eye, it can be big enough to block the sun. Time always ticks at the same speed, but somehow it flies by when you're doing something you enjoy and it barely crawls when you're waiting to get off work. Depending on who you ask, the glass can be half full, half empty, or just twice as big as it needs to be! And if you want to, when you look at this picture...

...you can see a vase, or you can see two faces looking at each other.

Things are not always what they seem, and perspective can mean everything.

I have been legally blind since birth, and I'm OK with that.

Some see it as a disability, and I admit that there are many times I wish I could see the way others do. There are times when I wish I could drive a car or see birds in the trees or count the stars in the sky. I'd love to read a newspaper without getting ink on my nose or just sit back in my seat when I'm using the computer! But generally speaking, I don't think of myself as disabled. When I was little, doctors said I shouldn't be able to see clouds in the sky or even see my own feet, and they said I would have to trail the wall when I walked.

But they were wrong. 

I love looking at shapes in the clouds, and I generally get around fine without tripping or running into things. Most people don't realize I'm any different from them when they meet me unless I have to read something.

And so I say I am blessed. I'm blessed because my vision's not as bad as it could be. I'm blessed because my family always encouraged me to learn to do things for myself. I'm blessed because I've come to see that other things are more important and more worthy of my time and focus than just my eyesight.

God has been good to me all along, and I know it!

I used to wonder why I had to be born this way. Did I do something wrong? Was there some reason God didn't like me? The Bible says over and over that God is perfect and all-powerful, so I have to believe that he doesn't make mistakes. What gives?

Then I read these wonderful words, and it changed my whole perspective:

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. His followers asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused this man to be born blind — his own sin or his parents’ sin?” Jesus answered, “It is not this man’s sin or his parents’ sin that made him blind. This man was born blind so that God’s power could be shown in him."

- John 9:1-3 (NCV - emphasis mine)

What I see is that if I'm here, there's a reason, and if there's something unique about me, it must be part of my purpose. I know that God, in his infinite wisdom, has a plan. And as I see his blessings, I know that God is love, so I can trust him!

Knowing these things changes my prayers. Instead of "Why me, Lord?" or "Heal me, Lord!", my prayer becomes "Lord, let your power shine in me!" Everything else is up to him! If God wants to show his power by healing my eyes, that's great. But if God wants to show his power by walking with me, I'm happy. And if God wants to show his power by using my story to inspire others, that is truly awesome!

I know that I have been blessed more ways than I can count, so I will trust the Lord and just try to count my blessings.

I hope you'll join me and let me know: What blessings do you see in your life today???