Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind
by a road they do not know,
by paths they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
and I will not forsake them.
I have a friend who is 99% blind. Everything in her apartment has a place and there is a place for everything. When her life is ordered this way, she can move confidently about her spaces and manage her life in her own way. It’s amazing to watch her: it’s as if she is sighted.
God’s promise for the blind– that we will be led and guided– takes on special vibrancy when I think of my physiologically blind friend. Whether we admit it or not, we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I like to think that I do, but if I am deeply honest, I don’t. I have plans, intentions, hopes but ultimately there is so very, very little I can control.
But God…. God promises that no matter how any moment turns out, God will be there with me, with you, with us. Leading, guiding, bringing light, smoothing rough places. And God will not forsake us.
How grateful I am that I can close my eyes and rest confidently in this promise.
(Francie Thayer, Spiritual Director, BFL/VEA)