New Season: Exciting Life Update!

Spring is quickly approaching, and with it will come the changes and promises of a new season. 

Flowers bloom, the weather gets warmer, and we can finally start to venture out of our cozy winter cocoon of blankets and fleece! 

The weather is not the only thing that has been changing for me recently. 

My life has been undergoing a season of change that has brought sad goodbyes, exciting new endeavors, and a whirlwind of emotions. 

I wanted to let you in on what God has been teaching me through it all.

First, the sad news.

Erica, my Marketing and Communications Manager, best friend, and everything in between has moved.

Her husband, Jackson, was offered a full-time position as a youth pastor. 

As sad as I was to watch them leave, I know they will both do great things in their new church and town. 

However, this did not make the transition any easier. 

Erica and Sara Claudia leaning in together in front of a pond smiling at the camera.

For the last year and a half, Erica has done so much more than just help grow my ministry. 

She has provided me with constant relief from the trapping confines of my blindness. 

It has been such a blessing to have her always on call to get me out of the house, whether it was to run errands, get to a speaking engagement, or just take a walk in the fresh air. 

Because of my blindness, I cannot simply jump in the car and go for a drive when I am feeling stir-crazy, and that inability is often what makes me feel stuck more than anything else. 

With Erica by my side, however, I always had a way out, and that was such a blessing. 

Erica will still be working for me remotely, and, of course, she will remain a close friend, but it is her presence and constant helping hand that I will miss most.

At the same time, I also received some very exciting news that I haven’t shared with all of you yet. 

For the past several months, I have been in the process of applying for a guide dog.

Along the way, I had to fill out a written application, gather personal references, film myself walking independently with my white cane, and have a home visit by a representative from the school. 

It was a long process filled with a lot of hopefulness and uncertainty. 

Despite this, Leader Dogs for the Blind, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, has made the whole process so easy and as stress-free as possible, and on February 11, I found out that I had been accepted into their guide dog program! 

Yes, that’s right, I am getting a guide dog!

While Erica and Jackson were in the thick of the interview process at their new church and while I was waiting to hear about the status of my application from Leader Dog, I spent a lot of nights praying through my uncertainty. 

I prayed for clarity, patience, understanding, and, most of all, I prayed that God’s will would be done. 

Romans 8:28 says,

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Sara Claudia and her fiance, Seth, walking "Juno" in preparation for her future guide dog.

This doesn’t mean that all things will be good, easy, or comfortable. 

However, it does mean that God will work it all out for the greater good…His greater good.

I know that this can be so hard to remember at the moment when our pain is real, raw, and seems impossible to bear, but I promise that God hears you, He doesn’t want His children to suffer, and the best thing we can do is trust Him through that pain and uncertainty.

During the very same week in which I was preparing to say goodbye to someone who had provided me with so much freedom despite my blindness, I also found out that I was about to receive a wonderful tool that would give me a whole new sense of independence and confidence in the form of a new canine companion. 

I was instantly reminded of God’s goodness, faithfulness, and His promise to always provide for His children. 

While this new season of life will bring its challenges, I’m also excited for the new opportunities that will blossom as well. 

So, if you are facing a season in your life that seems like a never-ending, dark, cold winter, keep looking towards the Lord.

Trust that He is working to bring you that bright, warm spring that will be full of new life and new opportunities.