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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: BLIND (06/03/21)
I recently had the opportunity to do something I hadn’t done for quite a while. A group of us had the pleasure of dining on a patio outside a restaurant and listening to live music. While the temperature was a bit cold, everyone enjoyed the chance to share an experience that too many of us have recently been denied. What made our group of five unique was that one of us, a man named Greg, is legally blind. While he had joined us in the past from time to time, I hadn’t seen him in quite a while and as a result I found myself particularly aware of all the ways that others help him to overcome his lack of sight. He arrived in a vehicle driven by another person. The waitress helped him in ordering and explained when his meal arrived and where his utensils were. When he needed to get up and go somewhere someone went with him and led him by the arm. The joy of this was that it was all done without a great deal of fuss. While Greg is open about his blindness, it doesn’t keep him from living a full life and some of that is due to the fact that others around him are willing to do simple things that enable him to overcome his lack of sight.

The gospels relate that Jesus encountered physical blindness on a number of occasions during his lifetime and the restoration of sight was a joyous occasion that caused people to glorify God. Yet, consistently, Jesus focused on lack of spiritual sight as the much more serious condition. Like Greg, we all need help from others to overcome our spiritual blindness and gain a true understanding of who God truly is. Critically, though, we must choose wisely those we allow to lead us so that we don’t suffer spiritual ruin and loss. Jesus had some of his harshest words for those who were blind guides. He explained that when the blind lead the blind they both fall into a ditch. It would do someone like Greg no good for another blind person to help him walk about no matter how well-meaning that blind person was. It requires a sighted person to enable a blind person to walk about without suffering injury and likewise it requires someone with spiritual sight to lead us out of darkness and into the light of Jesus Christ.

We live in a hard world and while moving about safely is a challenge for all of us, it is especially challenging for those with a disability. Lack of sight necessitates the assistance of others with the ability to lead the individual in paths that are free of impediments to ensure quality of life and to prevent accidents and loss. While finding people to lead us physically is important, it is far more critical in identifying those who can lead us properly in the spiritual realm. Spiritual direction is necessary if we are to please God and fulfill his purpose in creating us in the first place. The ability to see clearly spiritually and to help others along the right paths with God is a wonderful gift to the world and we should be appreciative of those who do so in a way that gives glory to God and encourages and strengthens people. We will continue to rely on these good spiritual guides until that day when we will see our Lord Jesus face to face and then we will see all things in a clear and beautiful way.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Arlene Baker
06/11/21
I worked with blind students in my high school years, so this article really interests me. Here are my suggestions:
1. You have a powerful first-hand example. Take advantage of that with a stronger hook. Don't explain everything to the reader - have the reader FEEL the event, smell the food, enjoy the sunshine, hear the music.
2. Introduce Greg in a more subtle way. You could write the entire piece, only revealing blindness at or near the end for a bigger punch.
3. Weave the "moral of the story" into the situation with Greg. Again, don't explain everything to the reader. Get the reader to ponder - to think - how spiritual blindness is like, or worse, than physical blindness.
4. Leave the reader with a challenge.
Hope that helps and keep writing!
Holly Westefeld
06/12/21
Your dinner was a nice hook for this devotional, providing the context to transition to your contrast of physical and spiritual blindness. Including the specific Scripture references to which you alluded would enhance this, in my opinion. Ilove to see how many creative ways similar themes are handled for a topic.
Laurie Kiel 
06/14/21
I thought Arlene and Holly gave some great suggestions on how to make your good story even better. I think the metaphor is a good one with good application. My only suggestion would be to break up the paragraphs into smaller paragraphs. I enjoyed reading your article.
Penny Neimiller 
06/24/21
Don't stop writing or get discouraged, your article grabbed me in and kept me reading through until the end without difficulty. Consider all that others offer and ask Holy Spirit to help you use the good and best advice and be joyful because you are on your way toward helping others know Christ more which is our one main goal.