“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” That’s how it is when we experience God at work in our lives. We know we are changed in some way, and we know it was the hand of God, not our own effort, that made the difference.

That might happen in any number of ways as we go through life. We may feel the healing touch of God in our body, mind, or spirit as did the blind man in our gospel for today. We may experience the comforting embrace of God as we suffer in our grief over some loss in our lives. We may find one meaningful coincidence after another occurring to surprise us with God’s presence. We may notice a nudge to call or visit someone for some reason unbeknownst to us, and if and when we do, we discover it was just what that person needed at that particular time. When we pray over some issue in our lives or in the lives of others, we may see the prayer answered--perhaps not in the way we expected, but in some way that blesses all concerned. We may find a crucial door opened before us, or one closed, as we journey through life and recognize it as the guiding hand of God leading us just where we need to be in the present moment. If we wander off the straight and narrow, we may be pulled up short and realize the mercy of God is drawing us back into the way, convicting our hearts regarding our waywardness. When we feel lost in the darkness of life, it is likely the light of God will pierce that darkness showing us the way out. There is no limit to the ways God may reveal Godself to us. You, no doubt, can think of many others in your life. God knows our every need, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and enfolds us with steadfast love, before, behind, beside, beneath, above, wherever, with whatever we need to grow in love. Nothing is impossible with God!

Once we recognize God’s presence in our lives and experience that transforming grace working deep within, we come to know, and to know that we know, that it is God alone who opens our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our minds to perceive, our hearts to accept the gifts God has prepared for us. One thing I do know, nothing can separate us, any of us, from the love of God.