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
This week, as I continue sharing untold stories from my sight loss journey, we are taking it back to 2019 and 2020. I hope you enjoy!
In 2019, I graduated from college…Finally! It was a day that I had been looking forward to since I began my collegiate journey in 2012.
After losing my sight, it was also a day that I never thought would come.
On a December morning, however, I donned my cap and gown and made my way to the University of West Georgia to receive my diploma.
In May of 2017, my mom, sister, and I took the trip of a lifetime to Hawaii.
While exploring the beautiful state, we had many adventures including hiking and ziplining.
On the beach, one day, my sister and I decided to try something that I had never done before sighted or blind… Kayaking in the ocean.
Kayaking is one of those activities that, while observing, looks easy, but once you are doing the paddling, you gain a whole new perspective.
The past 7 years have brought many experiences; some have been triumphant while others have been downright terrifying.
Despite the grief that accompanied my sight loss, I have been able to find joy in sharing how God has worked through it all.
Over the next few weeks, my blogs will contain stories from the past 7 years that I have not written or spoken about before.
Some will be hard, and some will be light-hearted, but each one will point right back to God and his amazing grace. I hope you enjoy!
One that I remember most is when we were introduced to obstacles.
The trainers set up various objects along the sidewalk that were meant to block our path. Then, as a team, Jackson and I had to figure out how to work around them.
This exercise was meant to mimic a real-life scenario in which our route may become unexpectedly blocked and we would have to decide how to navigate the situation.
As Jackson and I walked along, I did not know exactly what the obstacles were or what the outcome would be, I just knew they were coming.
Whether my sight came back or not, I was bound and determined to return to who I was before. I wanted to do the same activities, live the same way, and enjoy the same things.
It didn’t take long to realize, however, that the “normal” I had experienced before would never completely be attained again.
I refuse to feel sad about how the years have flown by, though. Instead, I will reflect on how thankful I am for each exciting experience and hard lesson the past 28 years have brought.
I will celebrate how each one has helped me to grow, learn, and strengthen my faith!
Here is a list of 28 things that God has taught me over the years about myself, about others, about life, and about God himself. I hope you enjoy!
Wedding pictures, engagement photos, snapshots from my travels, and photographs of family adorn the walls, shelves, and mantle.
I have always loved pictures. Before I lost my sight, and, yes, even after.
The one-year anniversary of my wedding is rapidly approaching, and one of my favorite things to do is to sit and look over all the pictures from our perfect day.
Now, however, armed with the word of God, we are ready to take up the offense and fight.
One of the reasons that I love the Disney Parks so much is that there is just something so magical about seeing a previously 2-dimensional story come to life before me in 3- dimensional real-life action!
This was the beginning of my horse obsession.
One of the first lessons at camp taught us about the necessary equipment, both for the horse and for the rider.
The horse must be equipped with a saddle, saddle pad, girth, and bridle.
The rider must be equipped with proper riding attire such as breeches (pants), boots, gloves, and a helmet.
Sometimes, it seems as though we are stuck in a season of life where one trial follows another, and they all begin to build up until the weight of it all is crushing.
Blindness often brings upon those seasons because it impacts so many distinct aspects of my daily life.
“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:14-15, ESV)
I love exploring new places and cultures.
All of my adventures have been so different, but each have one thing in common…a lot of walking!
While traversing a new destination, you learn just how important it is to have sturdy, reliable, and comfortable shoes on your feet. You can be as healthy and in shape as an Olympic athlete, but blisters or aching feet can bring down even the best of us and leave us missing out on precious sightseeing time!
“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:14-15, ESV)
In my younger years, I was notorious for borrowing my older sister’s clothes. Beth always indulged me and when I donned one of her sweaters or blouses, I felt so glamorous, cool, and grown-up.
Having an older sister was kind of like always having access to a brand-new wardrobe!
When we come to know Christ, we become “new” in a much more important way.
“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:14-15, ESV)
Since losing my sight, I had to discover a different way to enjoy the garments other than visually.
Today, when I am picking out clothes, I rely mostly on textures, but I also have learned to attach memories and mental images to my clothing as well.
I bump into or trip over objects that I didn't know were there, jump ten feet in the air when someone starts speaking in a room that I thought was vacant, or flinch when something brushes my arm and I have no way to figure out what it was. The unseen can be frightening!
In reality, however, all of us sighted or blind, encounter unseen enemies that are far more sinister.
Well, I don’t completely agree with this statement.
Let me explain…
After losing my sight, my life changed drastically.
I left a lot behind as I struggled to move forward with my new circumstances, and it felt as though a lot had left me behind as well.
Thinking about the simplicities that came with sighted life was difficult, and as time progressed, I found it painful to remember the early days of my blindness and all of the trials that I endured
When we take a closer look at our fears, many of them center around the unknown, unfamiliar, or what is out of our control.
One of my greatest fears is storms.
The power and unpredictability that they possess turn me into a nervous wreck every time the thunder begins to roll and rain pounds on the roof. You never can quite tell what a simple summer thunderstorm may progress into.
Ironically, before I lost my sight, I also had a fear of the dark.
In Genesis 37, Joseph, the son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his own brothers.
By no fault of his own, all of a sudden, Joseph found himself being plucked out of his homeland and shipped off to Egypt towards a life of labor and lack of freedom.
Joseph’s unfair judgment continued as he was sold to the captain of the palace guard, falsely accused of rape by the officer’s wife, and thrown into prison. Joseph was locked up for two years.
Through it all, however, he remained faithful to God and God remained faithful to Joseph.
The motion that you are up against something much bigger than yourself is enough to leave you feeling hopeless, scared, and, in my case, quite literally shaking in my boots.
When I was a freshman in college, a couple of years before I lost my sight, I was a member of my school’s equestrian team.
At the end of that first season, to my amazement, I qualified for the biggest competition of the year…nationals. I had ridden horses since I was very young, but I had never competed at such a high level.
When I first arrived at the huge arena and saw all of the talent and athleticism around me, I’ll admit, I felt out of my element, overwhelmed, and scared. Sure, I had earned my spot there just like the rest of the riders, but the irrational intimidation that I felt made me feel as though I was destined for failure.
The idea that I would be sharing my faith with others would have been almost laughable to me.
Why?
Because I did not have a close relationship with Christ, I was living far from how a Christian should live, and I hardly ever touched my Bible.
As a result, my life is now drastically different.
Sure, I also loved to grab a bite with a group of friends or my family, but there was always something about the peace and relaxing atmosphere of a meal spent in solitude that appealed to me.
It’s been almost 7 years since I strolled into a restaurant by myself, was shown to a table, and enjoyed a meal independently.
Well folks, I am happy to say that this streak has finally come to an end.
