It was very difficult to tell the Kalano residents
goodbye. Those who live in the assisted
living home have quickly become friends and will forever remain in my
heart. I didn’t expect to learn so much
from them but I am honored to share the valuable lessons they have taught
me. Allow me to introduce them to you.
Dandy is a favorite among my team. He is blind and depends upon his cane and
other people to get around. He has a
story to tell of heartache and strife and heroism as he is one of two remaining
men still alive who stood in
the Wave Hill Walk Off. Although he is hard to understand, we hang on
his every word. He doubts this and every
few sentences he grumbles, “are you still listening to me?!”
Observing the life and struggles of a blind man causes me to
look inward and reflect. At times I feel
as though I am living as a spiritually blind person. “God, are you listening to me?” “God, are you
still there?” Often I fumble around and
don’t know what I am looking for or where to find it. I tend to allow the darkness
to close in and I dwell on the negative rather than stepping into the light and
recognizing that I am not alone. God IS here
even when I don’t see him. God IS here
even when I don’t hear His voice. I must
believe.
Peter Pumpkin stood with tears in his eyes as we hugged him
goodbye and slowly walked away with heavy hearts. He is a man who just wants to be loved. He desires to be listened to, understood, and
accepted unconditionally. He feels let
down by his family and at times I wonder if He is afraid to let God in and
break down his walls. He seldom allows
me to pray for him but right before telling him goodbye for the final time, He
asked me to pray for hope. Hope. That is the cry of my heart for Peter’s
life. That he would come to an
understanding of the hope that can be found in a relationship with Christ. I desire deeply for Peter to be set
free. He is clinging to fear with the
realization that he doesn’t have a lot of time left as both his liver and heart
are failing. Pray with me for Peter, that he learns how to let go of anger, bitterness,
and resentment and simply let God take over.
We all have areas of our lives that we need to surrender to
God. We all have walls that must be
broken down. Let’s allow Him into the
darkest areas of our hearts and clean out the cobwebs that reside so that we
don’t find ourselves still holding on to sin and bitterness at the end of our
lives. Let’s find freedom in these areas
immediately and no longer allow them to hinder us in our walk with Christ. Let’s cling so tightly to hope that we don’t
allow life to knock us down because we know Whose we are and what we have to
look forward to in eternity.
language, and the light in his eyes which are always filled with laughter and
joy. When we pray, he clasps his hands
tightly in front of him as he closes his eyes and allows the love of Jesus to
sweep over him.
He sings loudly withfull assurance that he is cherished by God. His family and loved ones have turned their backs, but he is held in the
hands of His Jesus and that is all he needs.
