Blindness and Dementia and You and Me

Kenneth Carder. 

Cannot say enough good about him.

He’s a United Methodist Bishop whom I quoted in my doctoral dissertation.

We’ve since become online friends.

I’d love for you and me to be able to sit down with him in real life for coffee.

He recently wrote this of an event that happened while he was he was serving that weekend in a care facility, and it’s with his gracious permission that I share this with you — 

Worship at Bethany Sunday centered around John 9 and the story of the man who was born blind. The hymns included “Blessed Assurance,” “Amazing Grace,” Open My Eyes,” and “Be Thou My Vision.”

During our intercessory prayer time, I asked residents for prayer requests. A man who is blind and always sings the hymns with gusto, requested prayer for “those who aren’t blind but can’t see.”

He got it! Suddenly, the miracle was repeated in our midst!

A blind man with dementia opened our eyes!

— By the grace of God, may we live with eyes wide open today. May we see. May we understand. May we make a difference in and for the Kindom of Christ.

May we? Yes, we may.

Shall we? That’s up to us.

(and when I wrote “Kindom” three paragraphs above, it wasn’t a typo.)

See?