KEY SCRIPTURE Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
RELEVANCE Due to my prison sentence, I get numerous invitations to speak at churches, men's and mixed groups, breakfasts, and even to teenagers. As odd as it sounds, talking about my former foolishness is a privilege.
In one such group, I met a lady whose childhood was traumatic, to say the least. I will call her Mary. In her teens, somebody misdiagnosed Mary's I.Q. as being low. They hadn't considered the depth of her trauma. From there, professionals and government departments documented her as someone who could not live independently but would always require assistance.
Another humbling issue Mary endured was Amblyopia or lazy eye. While her reliable eye looked straight on, her distorted eye looked elsewhere, usually toward the top right-hand corner: making her look different to others. Mary was pretty despite the eye.
With a healthy conquering determination, Mary set out to improve the deficiencies induced by her trauma, challenging the initial reports. Step by step, Mary slowly worked on her independence learning new skills of society's normality, but the eye remained askew.
Mary eventually became a Christian and met a man whom she chose to marry who loved her for who she was, overlooking the optical reality. Prayer to rectify the eye problem didn't seem to work, or so they thought. Up until the wedding eve, Mary's eyes still looked in two directions, but the veil could cover that malformation.
When she awoke on her wedding day in preparation to seal her matrimonial pledge, the mirror told a different story to that of her past. Mary saw her beautiful bridely face with both eyes looking directly back at her, the lazy eye now as undeviating as the reliable eye. God healed Mary in time for her wedding. What a beautiful gift.
Why did He wait until then? Only He knows. Was it a test for both of them? For hubby-to-be to carry through with his love for her as she was. And for her to feel loved for who she was. Nobody knows, and that is often the way of the Lord. His timing is perfect. But we don't always appreciate that. We can never fully understand God's ways, as He mainly reveals His timing after events. That's part of our walk of faith.
God blessed Mary. When I met her, her eyes were identical, her face radiant and she had a serving spirit. I would never have known of her defect if someone hadn't shared Mary's story with me. Mary chose not to remain needy, as reported by the professionals, but instead embraced her overcoming spirit to achieve what they said would be impossible.
When I left the venue, I couldn't help thinking that her saga was far more powerful than mine, and maybe she should have been on the stage instead of me.
I have this funny feeling that God had His hand on Mary for many years. Even before she knew Him, He knew her. Let's praise God for who He is!
PRAYER Dear Lord, thank you for Mary's life and determination to change her trauma and tragedies into a success story. Also, thank you for healing her eye on the day you did. What a beautiful wedding present direct from the living God.
Photo by Amanda Dalbjorn
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