Walking hand in hand.
Sticky warmth making the grip loose.
Care and attention on the feet; one watching, one feeling.
“Step up on the curb, watch your head on the tree branch.”
A relationship of trust.
How often do we think about those things that we take for granted? Things like our food, our shelter, our family, the air we breathe? How about our sight?
Peter is blind. He has been blind since he was 12, when complications with measles left him without his sight. Yet Peter never stops moving, he is always busy, always doing something. As our contact for the month, he is responsible for 12 Americans with ages ranging from 21 to 29…. no easy task. Yet he personally makes sure that we are fed and cared for, enquiring after those that may not be feeling well, even personally escorting if Christy and I to the doctor’s when Christy was fighting an infection. His servant’s heart is made evident every day as he is led by the hand but leads us all in ministry.
I watched Peter as he was led by his friend Jose down the streets of Beira, Mozambique. I realized there was such a trust, such a partnership in their relationship. Peter had to trust Jose explicitly as the wind from passing traffic on the street blew across his face, and even as he was jostled by crowds of people on either side. When Jose said to cross the road, Peter was ready to dash for the gap in traffic that he could not see but he knew was there. And I saw the care that Jose took as he led Peter carefully through town, noticing every step, every curb, every uneven patch of concrete that the foot could stumble upon. Jose walked out of his way and jumped over potholes to lead Peter on the smoothest paths. The care and trust amazed me, and I commented to Christy about the honor in that relationship. It was so special to observe, I could scarcely take my eyes off of the pair of them.
The next day, Peter took Kayla, Aubrie and myself to a nearby village to pray for his friend who was not feeling well. Everything seemed to be normal, until we got off of the bus and I watched as the boy who had been leading Peter sat waving goodbye from the window. As Peter started walking slowly down the road by himself, Aubrie said from behind me: “You’re gonna have to help him.” Suddenly, I found myself as Peter’s guide. I couldn’t believe it. His hand in mine, I was leading him, yet he led me. Despite dark eyes, he stepped confidently next to me as we walked down the dirt roads of Mozambique. When the paths got narrow, I walked in the grass on the side, and I warned him as we crossed the railroad tracks.
It may seem like something out of necessity, but to me it was an honor to serve Peter in this way. After I saw the trust in the relationship between Peter and Jose, the Lord honored me with the opportunity to be involved in this relationship, to experience firsthand the privilage of leading such a man of faith. As I played eyes to this man who was sightless, my eyes were opened to his faith. As a leader in this ministry, he is such a man of God, trusting that the Lord will provide for everything that He leads them into. He trusts the Lord as his guide, as his eyes. In this way, I felt inferior as I led Peter down the dirt roads between the fields of corn. He has grown to be able to trust those who lead him, both in the physical and in the spiritual; both his physical guides, like myself, and his spiritual guides, his heavenly Father.
The Lord is growing me in these areas of trust. Trusting my Father to guide me, and trusting those guides that the Lord has placed in my life: my team. He has placed them in my life for this season, and I have to be able to trust them with ME. The Lord honored me with a chance to be a guide, and he showed me how I need to be lead. He is saying: “Do you trust me? Do you trust that I know exactly where I’m taking you? Do you trust me with your heart? Do you trust me with your team?”
It’s time to step when I cannot see.
