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WHITE CANE FAITH
Have you ever been asked one of those tough questions that you really can't answer with any certainty? You know the ones I mean: not the "Do you still beat your wife?" types, but the "What would you rather be?" types. "Would you rather be blind or deaf?", for example. Have you ever been asked that one, or thought about it much? It seems to me most kids, at some point, have. It is almost a prerequisite to growing up-like playing tag, or hide and seek.
Well, if you have been asked such a question, what was your answer? Personally, I've gone round and round on this one, because I love music so much. What would it be like to never hear music again? Music moves me; it creates memories and moods, so that would be quite a loss. What would it be like to never hear my wife's voice again, or my children's laughs? What would it be like to never hear the crunching of snow, or the cascade of rain on the rooftop? A lot of pleasure would be stripped away by the silence.
But, what about losing my sight? How limiting would that be? To be trapped in a world of darkness. That terrifies me. To not see my wife and children, well that's just unbearable. To not see the children's bedrooms, or my waistline. Humm, maybe there are a few bonuses in an otherwise scary scenario. Still, I think my answer would have to be that I would rather be deaf than blind just because I think I could better function under those circumstances.
The reason I bring all this up is because, in the past few weeks, I've seen a couple of blind people walking on the streets of Toronto. I've seen blind people out and about before. Most of them had guide dogs, but the people I've seen recently were getting around just with their wits and white canes. I don't know about you, but such a feat amazes me! I can't fathom the courage that this kind of mobility would require.
I am relatively certain that, if I were blind, I could learn to navigate around our home if my wife didn't move the furniture around too much, but to walk the streets of Toronto...to get on buses and ride the subway, which is where I saw these brave souls. Such activities are ballistically heroic!
To get around Toronto is a chore for anyone, but to get out and about without the use of your eyes-that is something I can't quite comprehend. I mean, how does one actually learn to do something that BIG! How does one learn to go outside and deal with people, traffic, trains, uneven sidewalks, and assorted obstacles, all at the same time with only the aid of a four-foot white cane tap-tapping a few feet in front of you? You might as well ask me to empty Lake Ontario with a coffee cup!
To be honest with you, if I were blind, I doubt very much that I would venture anywhere outside of my home alone. Maybe, just maybe I might be able to count the steps around the corner to the local drug store, but that would be about it. What about you? How adventurous do you think you would be with only a flimsy four-foot piece of white to get you anywhere you have to go? Really think about it, don't just let the question drop into your delete folder.
Most likely these wonderful examples of the human spirit took a lot of time honing their skills by taking small little baby steps to freedom. I doubt very much that the process of white-cane mobility is a one-week crash course (sorry). It has to be the accumulation of small accomplishments that builds up the confidence enough to actually step out there in the world and get busy.
As I thought about the process, I couldn't help but see the connection between white canes and faith. Sometimes the future is so uncertain that we really have a hard time moving forward with any kind of confidence. Sometimes our spiritual walk looks very much like us trying not to hit the furniture while we walk around our familiar safe places, our spiritual homes, our churches. Sometimes what God is calling us to do seems to be overwhelming. He is asking us to go on a journey well past our comfort zones and we just can't see how we could possibly go there.
Well, if any of this rings true in your life, perhaps the answer to your spiritual freedom and mobility is the same as those who have honed the craft of white-caneary. All you have to be concerned about is the three or four foot path directly in front of you. Don't consider the journey in its entirety, just work on not stumbling over something on the first step; then work on the second step.
More and more I am realizing that amazing, God-sized destinations of faith are reach with the patience and the determination of feeling our way, one small white-cane step at a time. If we can concentrate on not tripping over our own feet, I am positive that God will make sure that we arrive wherever He wants to take us. The trick is to make that first step outside the door and into the world that awaits. What door is God calling you to step through? What safe place do you need to step away from so that your journey with God can really begin?
Prayer
Lord God, helps us to step out in faith. Help us to move away from the comfortable-familiar into the dark unknown-not by sight, but by simple, patient, one-step-at-a-time white cane faith. Lord, help us to find Your freedom and Your journey and Lord if we stumble, helps us to get up and start tap-tapping again! Amen.
