The blind will see God

I found him sitting alone in the grass alone at the Anglican Church's school for the blind in Kitui, Kenya.

 

"Look, see him over there? He's handicapped too"

  

The girls were walking past him,  the ones with more sight leading the others. They laughed and smiled and acted like girls you would see in any mall . They would have gone shoe shopping if they had any money for shoes.

He sat there in the grass, little hands and arms pumping rhythmically, his head swaying back and forth.

The others lined up and began to sing for us so we were called over. I got up and began to walk over but glanced over my shoulder at the little boy I had been sitting with. The Holy Spirit called me back to him. So I went.

In addition to being a super-hero my wife is a Speech Language Pathologist. She has a specialty in deafness and a passion for the "complicated kids" with multiple issues. I've learned by watching and listening to her over the years how to connect with these kids. I sat next to him,  hunched over to his level and repeated his language back to him. He couldn't really speak but made these little grunting sounds so I returned.

And then the beautiful happened.

His broken eyes darted back and forth in his head, searching for the thing of something outside of himself who had heard his call and answered.  After repeating this for a minute or two He finally locked in on me. I placed a hand on his little shoulder and he turned his head, looking me directly in the eye and smiled.

He had found what he was looking for and so had I.

Whenever I travel to teach and preach anywhere I always pray "Lord, show me where you are".

  

He always honors this prayer.

I sat there grunting and talking, rubbing his shoulder when I became overwhelmed by the presence of God and moved to reach out.  Recalling from my wife that kids who suffer from dissociative disorders often wear weighted vests to help them feel connected to something other than themselves I placed by hand on his head and began to stroke his hair.

And then the beautiful happened again

He became stone-still.
he cocked his head, leaned toward me to within inches of my face, and grinned the most lovely grin I have ever seen. It was a wall of white, back-dropped with cocoa brown. It had the glow of the sunrise after a night of terror. It had the peace of a phone call from the doctor with negative results. It had the weightiness of arms in a sea of loneliness.

It was holy. 

I have only felt this sensation to this degree once before in my life. That was when I sat down upon a rock in Fort Collins, Colorado and prayed for the first time "Lord, I don't believe in you, but if you are real, please show me." I was bathed in the same light this day as I was then.

  

Beloved, this is our call; to bring Jesus Christ to those who sit in darkness. Although they cannot see him, they can feel his presence through our touch. It is simple formula.

  

1) Look for Him

2) Respond to Him

3) Sit with those to whom he sends you

4) Connect in their language

5) Love them for who they are

  

Why bother?

  

Because Jesus did the same for us. He came to those who could not see, the ones sitting on the side of the path, dirty and alone. He came down to our level, taking on the form of man and spoke our language.

He did stay with company of the choir of angels but chose to dwell with the the band of fools singing off key. Taking up a selfless life, he bore shame, beatings, mocking, and humiliation for us. 

Knowing that we were blind He did not withhold the antidote to our sickness, but freely gave his life in exchange for ours. Through his acts were shown what we could not see. We saw love on display.

And then the beautiful happened.

God gave him new life, and he shares this glory with us.

...the program had ended and I was called over. It was time to leave. I can't explain why but I can honestly say I found it easy to walk away from him. Perhaps because he will never leave me.
Perhaps because in the depths of my soul I know I will see him again.

But I am sure of one thing and it was confirmed when I was told that the little boys'  name was "Joseph"....I had seen the face of God.