Thank you for joining me as I walk by faith, and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey!
Want to have me speak to your church, group, or event?
Email me at hellosaraclaudia@gmail.com.
All in FAITH
It’s a saying we all have heard, and we know it is true.
The wet, dreary weather we tend to endure in early spring gives way to a beautiful array of vibrant colors and energizing scents as time passes.
While the rain is not a welcome occurrence, it is necessary for the beauty that we all look forward to each year.
Dear God, Be Merciful
Lessons that could be applied not only to my sight loss but to grief, relationships, and even to God.
While learning to navigate the world without my sight using a white cane, one of the first techniques I was taught was how to use my ears.
At street crossings, I was instructed on how to pay close attention to the sounds of traffic. By doing so, I could determine whether traffic was flowing, the direction the cars were moving, and if it was safe for me to cross the street.
This was a familiar storyline for me, a self-described wallflower, bent on blending in and staying quiet. My introverted personality played into my perpetual feeling of being overlooked. And so I carefully crafted identities that felt safe to protect my heart.
This means that, as I hold on to my companion’s elbow, they lead me around obstacles and along a safe, clear path.
At least, that is the intention!
In this way, I can navigate by feeling how the other person moves as well as by relying on their verbal directions and cues.
At the children’s hospital, hooked up to morphine, Julian finally stopped crying and drifted off to sleep. Everything was quiet and still around us when finally, the words came, but I wouldn’t exactly call them a prayer.
“WE DON’T WANT TO BE HERE!”
I never donned a dance leotard, ballet slippers, gymnast suit, or cheerleader uniform.
No, I was more comfortable in boots, brushing ponies, and riding in a dusty arena.
I did try gymnastics lessons once, though.
Quickly, I realized it wasn’t for me.
In an attempt to find an excuse to gracefully bow out of the sport, I told my parents that I didn’t want to do gymnastics anymore because my instructor had a ponytail…it was the logic of a 5-year-old, but it worked!
So, I never learned how to do a cartwheel, stand on my hands, or be flexible.
He proposed that, in addition to pursuing a career in professional counseling, I should also consider a job as a professional planner. In this role, I could plan people’s trips, meals, day-to-day activities, and overall lives.
As you can probably tell, he was poking fun at my tendency to construct plans in my own life, which can sometimes be excessive.
During this program, one of the most surprising and enlightening things I have learned is that skills or techniques are not the most important factors that make an effective counselor. Rather, the most powerful way of helping to facilitate healing, growth, and change in the lives of clients is a counselor’s way of sitting with hurting people.
I find it no coincidence that God in all His divine will would allow me to share a story of faith just one day after our belated child’s birthday, and just two days after Christmas. What should be a celebratory season, filled with hope, joy, and fulfilled prophecy, is riddled with such sadness for so many, including myself. As we celebrate the birth of a Savior, we mourn the loss of our very own promise, our only son, Briggs. I will never forget the utter joy of finding out I was pregnant with him, just one year after losing his unborn sibling. The immense pain, tears, questions, and prayers that preceded Briggs arrival were ever-constant, and were, then, one of the darkest times of my life.
It had always been my absolute favorite holiday, filled with family traditions, magical memories, and lots of Christmas cookies! That year, however, as the season approached, I began to dread adorning the tree with lights, watching my favorite holiday movies, and enjoying all of the beautiful decorations.
I had lost my sight that May, so in my mind, no amount of Christmas cheer could prepare me for all of the changes that my blindness would bring to the beloved holiday.
When I was younger, I used to play piano. The piano is one of those instruments that needs to be tuned periodically. I remember watching (or rather listening to) a man tune our piano in our home.
He used a lever or “hammer” to turn the tuning pins inside the piano, an action which increases or decreases the tension of the strings.
A good piano tuning results in two things: accuracy (in tune) and stability (staying in tune). Depending on how accurate your ear is, you can hear when a piano or other instrument is out of tune, because it emits tones and notes that sound “off.”
Especially in high school, we get pulled into strange fashion trends, risky behavior in an effort to fit in, and going to great lengths in order to be seen as appealing to others.
When I was a senior in high school, I let one of my friends talk me into dyeing my hair. My natural color, a dirty blonde shade, had never been touched with color before, but I wanted it to be blonder.
Jazz and Jambalaya, bayous and banana fosters, Cajun cooking, and riverboat cruising.
New Orleans has long since been on my travel bucket list, and I was so excited to get to visit a few years back with my parents.
Now, we all know that NOLA has a bit of a reputation, so before my arrival, I braced myself for the noise and chaos that I would inevitably encounter on Bourbon Street.
Why did I get fired?
Why did my mother have to leave us so early?
Why am I going through this divorce?
As Christians, we know that God is all-powerful. So, it seems natural for us to begin questioning Him as well.
Sweat was pouring down his forehead. His knuckles were turning white, and he was struggling in his seat as he began to raise his voice saying,
We had just screeched to a halt after twisting, flipping, and racing through the Batman roller coaster, and it was taking a little too long for us to be unloaded from the tangle of seatbelts and safety restraints.
I’ve always wondered why my dad insisted on taking us to Six Flags every year before school started because this always seemed to happen. He would inevitably become severely claustrophobic on one…or several…of the attractions.
It’s called the “surrender” and involves dropping first to one knee and then down to the other before rising up again into a mini squat one leg at a time. Trust me, it’s a lot harder than it sounds. After about 3 surrenders, I was breathing hard, my quads were burning, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the end!
Since losing my sight, I have experienced a lot of awkward and cringe-worthy moments.
I don’t even need to list all of them, because I’m sure you can imagine some of the crazy things that can happen when you are navigating the world without being able to see.
Recently, I had one of these experiences at the gym.
A common one is, “I wouldn’t be able to do that. Don’t you get nervous?”
The answer, honestly, is no.
A friend told me recently,
“God doesn’t call the equipped, rather He equips those who are called!”
This is so true! God definitely gave me the tools to be able to share my testimony when He called me to do so, and He continues to prepare me for this purpose even today. There are definitely times, though, when I do not receive God’s call as easily or willingly.
