He stands taller than his mother now; the blind, deaf, and mute boy who becomes a man when her eyes blink. She leads him to the chair with her arms and hands moving his. Helps him to sit down slowly, struggling with the awkwardness of the movements of his extremities. Touch, the only method of communication he knows.
When he settles, she turns and smiles over at me, exhales. “Some days are easier than others,” she admits.
He cannot see her, when she sheds tears of exasperation or when she smiles love over him seated there. He cannot hear her say, “I love you,” or ask, “What would you like for dinner,” or beg, “Do you know what Christ did for you.”
He cannot tell her in words when he is hungry or thirsty or lonely or sad. He hasn’t seen the posture of prayer, heard a voice sing in worship or a sermon preached on salvation.
But Christ sees him. He hears the pleading and joy of his heart, knows what he needs.
We don’t choose Christ, he chooses us. ~John 15:16
And when I ask her how this raising a blind, deaf, mute son affects her faith in God she tells me, “He reveals the glory of God to me in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”
It was not because of his sins or his parent’s sins,” Jesus answered, “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. ~John 9:3
I arouse my boy from sleep and he moans, says something silly evokes laughter. And thirty minutes later while I sip my tea and answer emails, I realize he still lays under blanketed warm. So I tell him stern, that he will be late for school if he doesn’t get up NOW.
I hear the screech of shower hooks on metal rod, rain of the shower, his sleepy thud onto ceramic bathtub and realize how much I take for granted.
The way I see to gauge emotion in facial expression, to read inspired words.
The sound of a sigh that alerts to sorrow, voices singing alleluia.
A conversation that inspires understanding. A shout warning danger.
Then I remember the deaf, mute and blind boy and realize how God transcends my dependencies. The way He loves unconditional when I thought I had to do something to earn it. This brings tears to the eyes on most days.
Are there things you have taken for granted when it comes to faith and daily living?
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
(Philippians 3:20-21 ESV)
During this season of Lent, I will be writing stories inspired by daily readings in the lectionary. If you would like to join along in this community, you may find the scripture verses here. And if you haven’t done so already, kindly add your email to the box under Follow Redemptions Beauty on the sidebar, to receive regular updates along the journey.
Yes! There are too many things to list. May I be forever grateful.
I work daily not to take things for granted. Wonderful pics and post.
Me too Rich! And I am always grateful for His grace to show me areas were I have been blind to what I take for granted. So nice to meet you, thanks for leaving a comment.
Being grateful for all things…..that is something I have been working on this past year.
Me too. Its such a good discipline isn’t it?
In my sin, I too, was blind and mute. And He came to me in my blindness in muteness. Thanks for that reminder! Great post!
Jennifer, thanking Him with you today.
Christ sees him, indeed. This is powerful stuff, Shelly. Truly.
It was powerful enough in the moment that I remember it today. I was humbled by her faith.
Yet another thought provoking post.
He indeed, does see…call us…and the grace, oh the grace.
Blessings,
Trish
Thanks Trish, and yes, all is grace.
such comforting truths, shelly — thank you. He indeed sees that precious soul. and He sees mine, too — DESPITE the obstacle of my perceived self-sufficiency.
are there things i have taken for granted when it comes to daily living? . . . oh my, where do i begin? . . . 1.5 yr ago, i was having severe problems w/ my vision for at least a month (unfortunately, b/c my eye doc’s assistant inadvertently misdirected me to put my contacts in in the wrong eyes). it was awful . . . then i got a bad head cold, took a flight to chicago, & returned with loss of hearing in one ear. threw off my equillibrium, etc. a very difficult week. and i joked about what i’d lose next! and soon i wasn’t laughing. b/c not long after that, i lost my mobility & was incapacitated for months on end (as you may have read on my blog). i couldn’t even lift a spoon to feed myself, at times — b/c it was far too heavy for my utterly weakened state.
but just earlier today, i was thinking about these (& other) losses & the wonderful ways the Lord has used them for my soul’s good & His glory. it’s been a dying-to-self season, & my Redeemer has kept me safe & secure in the palm of His loving hand, every step of the way.
after i read this post, this song came to mind. i love it, although i haven’t thought about it for years, so clearly, it was the Lord Who brought it to mind.
thanks again for this comforting reminder of truth today, shelly.
I am so thrilled to meet you. Thank you so much for sharing yourself here. I am so inspired and look forward to more conversation. Really!
i look forward to it as well, shelly! i am relatively new to this blog world, and one blessing that i never knew it held was the joy of “meeting” so many incredible people in the family of faith. inspiring for SURE. blessings to you, my new friend!
Aunt Shelly, your faith in the Lord is amazing I hope and pray to have a faith as strong as yours someday!
Christina, I don’t think you could ever give me a greater gift than the comment you just made. It makes me teary. And its all grace, his amazing grace in my life that is yours too. Thank you.
Striving everyday not to take things for granted Shelley. Everyday is God’s gift.
All good things!
Yes, everday a gift. Thank you for that Charina.
Your blog, this post, is lovely.
Thank you so very much for your kind comment at my place.
“The way He loves unconditional when I thought I had to do something to earn it. ”
I have to re-learn this lesson all the time… Thanks for inspiring me. Joy
Me too, every day it seems. So glad you came by.
SURE..make me cry! My son is deaf but hears by a cochlear implant but also has other stuff going on that make life difficult for all of us.. still i have seen folks such as this. and I know that we are blessed..and are all deaf and blind. I recall when he was born and I thought..HOW will he hear about Jesus? Of course there are mechanics of sign language and cochlear implants- but really that isn’t how ANY of us hear about Jesus. We hear with our heart ears and see with our heart eyes. God bless you 🙂
Amy, so glad you shared your experience here. I can imagine, just like the mother in this story, you see God in a way others have not or will not experience. Thank you so much for leaving your comment.
This is so poignant – a lovely reminder that grace not depend on us but is his loving gift, regardless of who we are, whether we can see or are blind, hear or are deaf, talk or are dumb, whether we are of high intellligence or low, externally beautiful or not…pray that God gives us eyes to see and ears to hear as he does…
Angie, beautiful words in your commment here and yes, may He make us alert to Him through all of life.