Reflections: A Wonderful Friendship

This month is sometimes considered the month of love and friendship due to Valentine’s Day being on the 14th of February. This month can also remind some people of the fact that they are alone if they are not near family and friends. This pandemic has only increased the number of people that are feeling lonely.

There is a cure to this feeling of loneliness. Jesus Christ is the answer. He is available to be a friend and is available at all times. When you put your faith in him and ask him to save you from hell forgiving you of your sin he then becomes your closest friend. The hymn “What a Friend we have in Jesus” is a great reminder of this friendship.

Jesus Christ is the one we must go through to reach God. God listens to our prayer when we have trusted in his son Jesus Christ. Jesus cleans our sins and he also takes on our sorrow. He is a constant friend. He understands the pain we face on this earth and he can relate to us with any issue we face in life.

He is there to give peace and rest. He is there to comfort us in the hard moments.

When you feel sad or alone like no one understands remember this hymn and let it encourage you. If you are in a season without friends Jesus is there for you and he is available at every hour of the day or night. Take heart things will get better.

Photo credit: the image forming the border (not including the text) is by Marketplace Designers

Stop Feeling Sorry for People with Disabilities

Are you a person with a disability? Have you had a stranger come up to you and say how sorry they are to see you in that disabled state? Have you had someone feel so sad for you that they cried? I know that people with disabilities can relate to this and can answer yes to one of these questions.

People with disabilities are not broken, there is no reason to feel sorry for a person with a disability. People with disabilities are people and just because they are different does not make them less or something to be sorry for.

I am a person with a disability, I am visually impaired. I have experienced this reaction from others before. A person once saw me with my white cane and I heard them say “oh how sad” and one time a person that I was interning for broke into tears when he was discussing my work on a panel on employment for the blind and visually impaired. I have also had people stop me in the street and start to pray for me.

I am not broken. I do not need to be fixed. I am different and may do things differently but that does not make me less of a person. I do not want your pity. I do not want any handouts. I do not want a free pass. I want to work for and earn anything I get. I just want to be treated like anyone else. I just wish that people would look at me and not immediately see different and feel sad but that they would give me a chance to show what I can do.

Stop feeling sorry for people with disabilities and instead treat us like any other person. In the end whether a person has a disability or not there will always be something different about them. Take the time to understand them and to see the value that the person has to offer instead of what they look like.

I hope that this will help everyone to have a better attitude towards people with disabilities.

Reflections: The Value of Friendship

Have you ever taken a moment to stop and reflect on the value of friendship? A good friendship is one of those gifts in life that you can not put a price on. A good friendship should not be taken for granted.

Friendship is filled with joy, encouragement and honesty with a strong bond.

Friendship is an aspect that I have had trouble with throughout my life. I am someone who is very quiet and very shy so it has always been hard for me to reach out to people and be friendly. I was the young girl in the school playground that sat alone on the side. I only half way made 2 friends in the fifth grade but that did not last. The same thing went on throughout my school years and I am still on a quest to find a good friend at age 34. Some of this may be due to my vision impairment but I am still trying to figure things out.

I do not want to be discouraging by sharing this but i just want to point out that not everyone gets the opportunity to find a good friendship.

I know that I have a lot to work on when it comes to finding a good friend and it is a serious decision to make as a friend can become even closer than family. If I ever do find a good friend I will try not to take them for granted.

I would rather have one or two good friends that truly understand me and that I truly understand than a large group of friends. I hope to be able to learn to be a good friend and to be friendly to others.

I wrote these poems on friendship and I hope it will help you reflect on the value of friendship and help you appreciate the friendships you have.

Joy of Friendship (Original Poetry)

Poem text reads The joy of friendship
A wonderful give and take
The priceless moments. Text is in script on a white background

Friendship (Original Poetry)

Poem text reads Love thicker than blood
With an unbreakable bond
The love of a friend. Text is in script on a white background

Here are some helpful Bible verses on friendship.

Proverbs 17:17 KJV — A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 18:24 KJV — A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:6 KJV — Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs 27:17 KJV — Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Be an encouragement to your friend and encourage each other on this journey through life.

Valentine’s Day: Do you Go Big or Stay Low-key?

Text reads valentine's day go big or Low-key. Question mark. There is a cluster of candy hearts below the text with bottom part of text over a part of the hearts.

Valentine’s Day has evolved into a big romantic day over time. It is that special time of year when the fancy dresses and suits get taken out of storage and fancy dinners are had at fancy restaurants. This is the day when all the chocolate and candy is most popular and let’s not forget about the flowers.

In my opinion Valentine’s Day has become much bigger than it should be. I think that when you are in a relationship you should treat every day as if it were Valentine’s Day. I am not in a relationship but if i was I would want a low-key day on Valentine’s Day and would not make a big deal about it. I am someone that prefers to stay home and am not a big fan of restaurants. I do enjoy chocolates but something small would be fine with me.

I also want to add that this day is also a time to celebrate friendships. If you have been given the opportunity to find a great friend or group of friends do not take them for granted.

Do you celebrate big or stay low-key? Share your opinion in the comments below.

It is Low Vision Awareness Month: Check out the Checkered Eye Project

Text reads low vision awareness month. There is an image of a person walking using a white cane positioned under the text.

February is Low Vision Awareness Month. I am a person with low vision myself and I started this blog to bring more awareness to the low vision community. When you have low vision you are in between the blind and sighted world and it can be frustrating at times. Blindness is on a spectrum and every person with a vision impairment sees differently. There are those who are totally blind and there are those with usable vision.

When someone says they have low vision it usually means they have some usable vision but again you should ask the individual what they can or can’t see. For example i am totally blind in my right eye but i have some limited vision in my left eye. I have to use glasses with a very high prescription to help me have the limited vision that I have. The glasses do not restore my eyesight to 20/20.

Even with glasses;

I can’t see much in the bright sunlight or in dim lighting. Bright lighting also makes my vision blurry.
I can’t read regular size print.
I can’t see curbs on the streets or steps especially when going down because i do not have depth perception.
I can’t see small details because my eye does not focus well.

Due to these limitations I use a white cane when I am out on my own. The white cane helps me to detect curbs and drop offs such as steps as well as other objects in my path I may not see. The white cane helps me to let others know that i may not see them in my path and it helps me be safer when walking around. My glasses do help me see large print and i can see objects and people but it is very limited and changes depending on the situation. I do better in less crowded places. I can see more when there is a lot of contrast.

Having low vision can be a complicated thing and even more complicated to explain to a fully sighted person. When you see someone with a white cane that is also wearing glasses or seems to have some vision please understand that their vision is limited and they need the white cane for safety reasons.

Many people with low vision struggle with being misunderstood by others because they seem to be sighted but the sighted public does not understand that their vision is limited. The Checkered Eye Project was born out of this frustration. Libby Thaw created this symbol to let others know she had low vision and now it is available for all to purchase as a more clear sign of vision impairment. It is a great tool to educate the public.

Please leave any questions you have about living with low vision below. I will be sharing more about my vision this coming April in a series of posts.