A Different Kind of Seeing

"Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB)
Our friends had mentioned to us when we arrived in NC that they would like for us to meet their friend, Lisa. Hoping that we would be able to meet up & Lisa would be able to share with us, they really did not give us any information about her aside from the fact that she was blind. Jen talked to Lisa & we were able to pick her up at her home & then go to a bakery for lunch. Though I had seen blind persons before, I had never been with a blind person. Knowing that despite having her stick, she would still need assistance (an arm to grab onto), I offered my arm up. Unfortunately, I was not the best leader as I nearly ran her into a pole. We had a wonderful lunch & then went back to her home where she shared her "story" with us. Basically, 4 years ago, Lisa came down ill. Without going into all of the details, she was in a coma for 3 months & when she awakened she was unable to see. She informed the nurse of that immediately & quickly, tests were run & it was determined that throughout her experience, her optic nerves had died--she would be blind permanently. She went from having been born with sight, growing into adulthood & even watching her own kids grow to not being able to see anything at all. Lisa went to a blind institute to learn how to cope with her blindness as well as maneuver, read Braile, etc. She is now a teacher who enters into homes teaching other blind persons necessary skills & how to function as a blind individual. As Haley & I listened, our eyes were getting a bit tearful. As many of her kids' friends are getting married, her 3 children are both in relationships & will most likely marry within a few years. She said that she just almost cries when she thinks about the fact that she will never get to "see" her kids get married. In her mind, her children look just as they did when she went blind. That will always be how she remembers them. After much conversation, she asked if we had any questions. Of course, I did. I asked her if she felt like not being able to see people helped her in loving them because as a person with sight, I find that I am quick to judge someone by what I see before me. She was pleased that I asked the question..said it was a good one that people rarely ask. She was well-prepared to answer though. In fact, she has even written a poem about that very thing & she was happy to share that with us. In essence, the poem spoke of how we (people with sight) are the ones that are handicapped because we can see & because of that, we see the tattoos, the piercings, the warts, the fat, the toothless, etc. & since she is not able to "see", she gets to know the hearts of people. As she talked about the institute that she was in for months, she said that she grew close to a young 22 yr. old girl...probably because she had kids near this girl's age so she felt there was a bond. She said that one day, one of the workers said to her, "Lisa do you know what that girl looks like?" Of course, Lisa replied with, "Of course I don't, that's why I'm here." The worker began to tell Lisa that the girl wore all black (including black nail polish), had over 20 piercings on her face alone, smoked many, many cigarettes a day & so forth. They wanted to know why she would be associating with her. Lisa had a love for this young girl though. A love that she said she may not have had if she would have been able to visually see her. I do not want to tell too much more as Lisa is in the process of writing a book about all of this & when it is published & released, I fully intend to buy it & perhaps some of you will too. Listening to Lisa speak brought such joy to my heart. While no one here on Earth is perfect, Lisa is coming closer to seeing people as God sees them than many of us ever have for she judges not on their appearance but their heart. I pray that I may lose my sight when it comes to the exterior & just as Lisa & the Lord, look at the interior. When telling someone about Lisa, they asked if she was ever angry about her vision loss. She did not mention that to us while we were speaking with her. Probably very few of you in your lifetime will have the opportunity to sit & visit with someone that cannot see you. I was given that chance & I am so grateful that I got to meet this incredibly remarkable woman of God. In addition to writing her book, Lisa does travel to speak at conferences, churches, schools, etc. If anyone would be interested in speaking with her about possibilities of having her at an event for yourselves, please let me know. I know that you would be greatly touched by her story. Even though things can be difficult for her at times, Lisa has a super sense of humor. I'll end by telling one last story about Lisa. Before we were heading to the airport to return home to St. Louis, we had lunch with Lisa again. We sat down to the table (I should mention that I also helped her as she got out of the car on the cobblestone drive & we went into the restaurant. I did a bit better this time--just ran her into the table but that was it) & I realized that the man sitting diagonal from our seat was blind as well. I thought it odd that there would be 2 blind persons in the same room--not something you see everyday. When our friend Jen mentioned this to Lisa, Lisa said, "Where is he?" Then she said, "Oh, I can't see him anyway!" We all started laughing & Jen told her to turn her head to the right & back a little & there he was. Not kidding, Lisa turned her head back there & said, "OK." Lisa is an extraordinary lady & not someone I will ever forget. Meeting Lisa was such a special experience for me as I realized how different a blind person's life is from mine. As Jen read the menu to her, I thought about the fact that Lisa does not have the option to look over the menu numerous times like we do. She has to listen intently & even more so if the area is noisy. She has to rely upon others for little things that you & I take for granted in having the ability to do. Anyway, I look forward to the day when we can sit & visit again.