One day stands out as one of the most awe-inspiring of my teaching career. One of my students had such limited vision that the school considered her legally blind. The special ed teacher did some extensive research and discovered a device called a monocular and ordered it in to help her with her schoolwork.
When the device arrived at the school, the teacher was so excited that she brought it to my classroom for the student to try immediately. It still takes my breath away when I remember that young girl’s reaction to seeing things for the first time.
She looked at the ceiling tiles exclaimed excitedly, “Mrs. Sims, there are holes in the ceiling!” Next, she moved to the window, and asked, “Are those leaves on the tree? I’ve never seen leaves before.” The class sat spellbound as she searched the room for new things to examine, exclaiming in pure joy over her discoveries.
The experience moved me to my very core. She was ecstatic about things I had so often taken for granted. I sat under the ceiling tiles for years and never marveled at the holes. I passed that tree outside on my way into the building every day, but I never rejoiced in its leaves until I saw them through that teenage girl’s eyes. In that magical moment, I thought I would never take little things for granted again.
However, life happens, and unfortunately, I still miss those little joys thirty years later. I claim busyness, when, in fact, I have tunnel vision. In staring ahead, I miss the beauty God has created right beside me. A 16th-century philosopher said, “There is none so blind as he who will not see.”
That young woman is an adult and living on her own. I do not know her story since she left my classroom years ago, but every time I see her, she is smiling. I believe that even with her limited sight, she sees more than I.
So today, while that memory is fresh on my mind, I want to look for holes in the ceiling tiles, smiles on faces, and rainbows after the rain. I want to see afresh the wonders God has prepared for me each day. I hope you will, too.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 40:5