Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Passing the Time

So now the waiting truly begins. It seems that it’s easier to wait for something when you know it’s still a long way off. I really don’t feel very nervous or anxious, but there’s just this feeling in the air, kind of like an approaching storm. Something you sense more than see.
This month marked exactly two years since I went completely blind, and I was just thinking about how those two years have gone by. There were times when it seemed like time would never move again, but of course it did, and now I can’t believe so much has gone by.
I’m reminded of how much God has been with me during this time. Two years is nothing to Him, but He knew it would be a long wait for me. And He was always there with me, helping me along and giving me things to do to help pass the time.
It was way back in 2007 when He introduced me to audiobooks for the first time. God used Uncle Butch to pass that idea along to my mom, and her to pass it along to me. Only God could have come up with such a perfect plan for me. I’ve always loved books and that was just the thing. Of course, I wasn’t completely blind yet at that time, but my eyes were failing and it was getting difficult to read print.
The audiobooks kept me occupied for a while, but the novelty of it did begin to wear off after about two years. In 2009, just a few months after I went completely blind, God gave me the idea to start writing audiobook reviews and publishing them on a blog. Wow, books and computers combined in one project! Does God know me or what? For that one, God brought in the lady from the division for the blind, who loaded a screen reader onto my computer and showed me how to use it. I can’t even guess how many hours I have passed away listening to audiobooks and writing reviews and working on my blog.
Believe it or not, even that began to lose its luster after a year or so. God didn’t leave me hanging though. It was about then that he introduced me to Susan Dunman. Susan asked me if I would be interested in submitting links to my reviews to her site, Audiobook Jukebox. Not long after that, she asked if I would be interested in writing some reviews for another site that she edits, The SF Site. That put a little bit of a new twist on things and kept me going for a few months.
It was through my association with Susan that God planted the idea in my head that I could contact audiobook publishers and ask them to send me free audiobooks for review. That was a great idea because I had already been through most of the audiobooks my library had that interested me. So for the last seven or eight months I’ve been getting lots of great books directly from publishers.
Anyway, God knew just how to keep my mind occupied so I didn’t have to sit around feeling sorry for myself, or wishing the time would go faster. And in the process I’ve met some nice people that I otherwise would have never known. I even met an audiobook producer and narrator from Colorado: after we had known each other for a while, we discovered that we are both native Nebraskans; he grew up in North Platte.
It’s very comforting to know that God is always there looking out for me. Of course, I already knew that from reading the bible, but the message is so much more powerful when you witness it first-hand.

Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ESV

Romans 8:28 we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ESV

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad you finally got to taste all the beauty I've spoken of over the years, TRUE beauty of God and all His amazing fruits that He WILLINGLY gives, when you seek Him and Him alone. Praise be to God! To Him and Him alone!

    I'm glad I've got to witness more of His beauty, and will continue to, too! :)

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