I must confess, I have been blind to a number of blessings in my life.\u00a0 There are several things I take for granted, an example: the ability to read and write.\u00a0 I cannot begin to even imagine my life without books, journals, and pens.\u00a0 There would be no use for the three overcrowded bookshelves in my room.\u00a0 I would not spend hours browsing the sections of Books A Million and leave the store with thirty dollars less to my name.\u00a0 I would never fall in love with any fictional character and mourn their tragic end or rejoice that their achievements. \u00a0 The more I reflect upon how my life would be if I could not read or write a sentence, the more I find myself praising God that I am able to do both.\u00a0\u00a0Till recently, I have thought little about how blessed I am to have these two vital abilities. Till recently, I have thought little about how blessed I am to have these two vital abilities. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I often volunteer at the United Way of Seneca, a job which mainly consists of manning the front desk, organizing pamphlets, and answering the phone.\u00a0 A few months ago, I had an encounter there that ripped the blinders off my eyes and ultimately shattered my heart.\u00a0 It was in the middle of a downpour when he limped into the office.\u00a0 Despite the dreary weather, he was smiling as he put his cane aside and took a seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He informed me that he had come on the behalf of his wife, she was in need of prescribed medication and they could not afford the demanding price due to finical difficulties.\u00a0 The only available worker was currently tied up in a meeting, so I offered him to stay in the comfort of the main lobby till they were available.\u00a0 He thanked me and began to make small talk.\u00a0 He had told me that he had trouble finding the office since we switched locations.\u00a0 At first, I did not think much of this statement, for other people had made similar comments.\u00a0 But what he said next truly devastated me. “You see, it takes me longer to learn where places are because I can’t read.” \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He must have noticed the shock on my face because he launched into the story of his early life.\u00a0 He was born premature and had various medical issues.\u00a0 The doctors had apparently given up hope on him ever making through the night.\u00a0 But his parents had held onto their faith and pleaded with the Lord to spare their son and their prayers were answered.\u00a0 The elderly man described how he grew up in poverty and how his parents had to pull him out of school at a young age so he could work with his father to bring in more income.\u00a0 As a result, he never properly learned how to read or write formal sentences.\u00a0 “I can sign my name though” he told me towards the end of our conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he left, I was reduced to a humble mess of tears and awe.\u00a0 Even as I type this now, my eyes still feel the telltale sting of oncoming tears.\u00a0 This man, this stranger has faced so many hardships in life and has still managed to keep a smile on his face for all of these years.\u00a0 His story is one worth telling and while he continues to share his story with those who will listen, I plan to share it with all who will read.\u00a0 Never again, will I ever take reading and writing for granted. \u00a0
Miranda Alexander I must confess, I have been blind to a number of blessings in my life.\u00a0 There are several things I take for granted, an example: the ability to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religious-studies","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3968"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3996,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968\/revisions\/3996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}