Meet Bobette Kelly

Blindness is a physical affliction referenced many times throughout the Bible, often as a metaphor for the spiritual condition. We are not told in this short passage what caused the two beggars to be physically blind, but a few months ago, I learned that spiritual blindness can be caused by overwhelming grief. 

On August 17, 2015, my 84-year-old father died. He had been diagnosed with mesothelioma only a few months prior. I was able to help care for him in the weeks preceding his death, and we talked about heaven and said our goodbyes.

One week later, my 54-year-old husband died as we were walking from our car to the evening service at Watermark. There was no time for goodbyes. Suddenly, and without warning, my life changed in ways I could never have imagined. And in the face of such incomprehensible sorrow and fear, I lost my spiritual sight. As David lamented in the Psalms, "My eye wastes away because of grief" (Psalm 6:7a); and "my eyes grow dim with sorrow" (Psalm 88:9a). In my overwhelming sadness, I could not see God. I was blind to His goodness and doubted His love for me.

In their physical blindness, the two beggars cried out to Jesus for mercy, and when he did not acknowledge them, "they cried out all the more." (Matthew 20:31b)  I, too, cried out to Jesus from the darkness that shrouded me. Unlike the blind beggars, my healing was not instantaneous, but it was no less miraculous. Over the past few months, my visual impairment has become less pronounced. I glimpse God's gentleness in the the tender embrace of a friend. I see His loving-kindness in the thoughtfulness of others. I view His goodness in the many answered prayers of supplication on my behalf.

Jesus asks each of us the same question that He asked the blind beggars, "What do you want me to do for you?" I want God to open the eyes of my heart so that I can see clearly and, like the beggars, follow Him. I'm not certain where He is leading me, but I can trust Him on the journey.