Feb 7, 2024

Having Spiritual Insight

Spiritual vs. Natural Vision

In Pastor Barbara Ann Brooks’ book entitled Things God Can’t Do, we are reminded that “God can’t be seen by the natural eye.” Her anchor Scripture is 2 Corinthians 5:7 which reads “For we walk by Faith, not by sight.” The Word tells us we are to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4:18).

There’s no one under the sound of my voice who would voluntarily choose to surrender his/her natural eyesight. We believe having good vision could possibly afford us safety, ease, comfort, and maybe even a quality of life above those unsighted. However, God’s Word tells us that we cannot rely on natural eyesight to gain an eternal perspective or to see our God for who He is OR what He has for us. With our natural eyesight we can ONLY go so far. It may get us in the door; however, to see God and know our direction we must have Spiritual insight. Through Spiritual insight we can see God in creation, in earthly gifts, in work, in trials and in everyday occurrences.

Thank God for the civil rights movement and a growing awareness of Black identity which is partially responsible for why we celebrate Black History in February today. This is our opportunity to not only celebrate our God for bringing us through the storm, the rain, the hurt and the pain. Dorinda Clark-Cole composed a song that says
[God] was always there.
No matter what the snare
If he brought me this far
He'll take me all the way
She says, The economies still down
The enemies tryin' to run [us] down
I got my Faith in You - [LORD GOD!]
[‘cause] I know Your Word is true. Obviously, we can only recite these lines through Spiritual insight - “We walk by Faith, not by sight.” This is our Spiritual GPS!

I would like to briefly name a couple of Black pioneers with Spiritual insight:

We are all very well acquainted with the legendary Ms. Harriet Tubman. Although not blind, Ms. Tubman suffered a severe injury caused by the slave owner which resulted in a visual impairment and seizures. This impairment didn’t hinder Harriett Tubman's mission to create the Underground Railroad and free more than 300 slaves. She saw her vision not through natural eyesight. She completed her journey walking by Faith - defined as Spiritual insight.

Martha Louise Morrow Fox - was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. At a very young age, she suffered an eye disease rendering her partially blind. Instead of allowing this disability to impede her goals in life, Ms. Fox graduated from the Overbrook School for the Blind and furthered her studies at Temple University, West Virginia State College, University of Wisconsin and the Hampton Institute.

Even prior to obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree, this Spirit-lead woman was instrumental in 1929 for the first school in Mississippi to teach Black students who were blind - named the Mississippi Blind School for Negroes. So impressed with the school’s performance, in 1945, Ms. Helen Keller appealed for funding from the State Legislatures. This new funding allowed the school to expand into the new Mississippi School for the Blind for both white and African American students in Jackson, Mississippi.

Ms. Martha Louise Morrow Fox is noted for not only ministering to her students’ intellectual needs; she also ministered to their moral and Spiritual needs as well, recognizing that when students’ "sixth sense” is sharpened, their minds and spirits are more keen to the Will of our Father. She acknowledged that blind and visually impaired children deserve the same opportunities as those gifted with natural/physical sight.

Among her accomplishments, Ms. Fox organized blind quartets such as the “Cotton Blossom Singers” and the “Five Blind Boys of Mississippi.” In 1945, she was awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drama Award. In 1969, she was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by the Mississippi Teachers Association. It wasn’t until 2009, that a historic marker was erected in her name. Contributing so much, she was inducted into the American Printing House for the Blind's Hall of Fame in 2013.

Married in 1937, she lived until age 83 transitioning in 1985.

Our final pioneer is someone living today. Ms. Haben Girma - is only 35 years of age, born in 1988. She is the first deafblind student to attend and graduate from Harvard Law School. She has written and published a book entitled, The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard.
Desiring to help persons with disabilities gain more access to books and other digital sources, Ms. Girma decided to pursue a law degree. In her words, “Digital information is just ones and zeroes…It can be converted into any kind of format. And those people who develop these services—programmers, technology designers—they have an incredible power to increase access for people with disabilities. And I hope they use it.”

In 2014, she represented the National Federation for the Blind against an American e-book and audiobook subscription service when they failed to provide access to blind readers. She cited that this was a violation against the American Disabilities Act. Although Vermont dismissed this case. She presented it in the
U.S. District Court of Vermont. Then in 2015, the US District Court overturned the verdict ruling that online businesses are also subject to ADA rules and regulations. The parties were able to reach a settlement and agreed “to provide content accessible to blind readers by the end of 2017.”

Ms. Girma is passionate about her charge. While in office, former President Barack Obama “named her a White House Champion of Change.” Among her accomplishmnents, she has received “the Helen Keller Achievement Award, a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and TIME100 Talks.” She has been recognized and honored by former President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel and many others.

So we can also echo the words of our former co-leader, Pastor Barbara Brooks. We need Spiritual insight because as she stated “God can’t be seen by the natural eye.”


Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
The Disability Resource Center - UCSC
World Services for the Blind

Leatha Foreman 2/7/24 #1100