So Blessed!

I know it's so cliche to say that, especially being a student at Samford where it seems like everyone is "So Blessed" here, but it is so true to me! I feel as though we take a lot of things for granted, particularly the little things in life. Honestly, I probably ask God for more things than I praise Him for what He has already done for me. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but it is a difficult thing to talk about because we never want to appear to not have it all together. Thank God that He doesn't want us to have our life all together. He loves us because we are His children. He wants us to cry out to Him and never expects anything in return but for us to love Him. When we love Him, everything else will fall into place. John 14:15 says, "If you love me, obey my commandments." With all of the wonderful things that God has done for me and given to me, how could I not love Him? This brings me back to the purpose of what I started talking about: Being Blessed!

Today, my education class went to visit the Alabama School for the Blind and the Helen Keller School. Visiting with those sweet and precious kids really put my life into perspective. Many deal with multiple disabilities on top of being deaf or blind. Watching them succeed in class and doing basic life skills really touched my heart. The funny thing is that many people tell teachers and assistants who work with people who have disabilities that they are doing a great thing in helping those people and teaching them, but in actuality, it is those with disabilities who end up teaching everyone else important lessons in life. At the Alabama School for the Blind, there was a young man who really inspired me, and what he said will always have a huge impact on my life. He was talking to us about some of the braille technology he uses through an iPod. When asked what he wanted to do when he finished high school, he told us that he wanted to do something in computer programming to develop affordable programs that not only help visual impaired people, but everyone else as well. Wow! How awesome is that!? Here I have been lately stressing out about assignments, organizations I am committed to, and working and I encounter this dear boy! He doesn't have any sight and could complain about so many things, but he was learning about technology so that he can make a difference. And the stunning part of that is that he wants to make a different for everyone! He truly taught me a lesson of a lifetime! And on top of all that, he even expressed his Christian faith with us as he opened his Bible app on the iPod so we could listen to a Bible verse.

My perspective of life is so different now. I am thankful that God has allowed me to see and hear and have good health. Being able to walk, talk, see, and hear - I know I don't stop and think of how blessed I am to have those senses, but after today I am truly thankful! I wish it was mandatory for people to learn sign language because there were children who tried to communicate with us, and since we did not know sign language, we didn't know what they were trying to say to us. We did learn one sign.

Friend.