JONI: My good friend, Melanie, has a very severe visual impairment – and that’s not easy when you’re a mother of three children and a pastor’s wife. But even though Mel is legally blind and no longer able to drive – she takes a magnifying glass to read the labels on cans of food at the supermarket – even though she has these and other challenges, she’s able to keep her trust in Jesus. But Mel, it’s not easy, is it?
MELANIE: No, Joni, it isn’t. God has been so good to me but that doesn’t mean that He spared me from the challenges, hurts, and even disappointments that come with a disability.
JONI: I know you and I have talked in the past. It’s always difficult isn’t it?
MELANIE: I guess I have grown familiar with my loss of vision and all its consequences... it would be depressing if I didn’t move forward ... but even with that familiarity, I never get used to it. Living with a disability is never easy... even with time.
JONI: And you have had this visual impairment for how long?
MELANIE: About eight years.
JONI: Wow! So how would you encourage friends listening today to minister to someone like you who is legally blind? What would you tell them? How can they help?
MELANIE: The best way to minister to someone like me (or really anybody with a disability for that matter) is to put yourself in their shoes. Somebody might pass me in church and say, “Call me if you need to go to the store this week.” I’m sure their intentions are good when they say that, but it really puts the burden on me (or the one in need) to all back and ask for help.
JONI: That’s a good point.
MELANIE: Probably a better question would be, “I’m going shopping Monday or Tuesday, would you like to go with me?” Already the burden is lifted and friends are going shopping together. I think if people need to go, I need to go shopping, too. Instead of telling me how great your latest book was, they could offer to read it with me. Because if you like reading a great book... I probably do too.
JONI: How do you keep your confidence in Jesus so strong and so secure? What’s the secret?
MELANIE: Joni, hope is the best thing you and I have. It is a hope in a sovereign God who holds me in the very palm of His hand. My hope is not in this world where I really do see things dimly, but I hope in my future home where I will see and understand everything clearly.
JONI: Mel, for our listeners just describe the extent of your disability – what can you see, what can’t you see?
MELANIE: Well, I read on the computer with Zoomtex. I could probably only read a major headline or the name of the newspaper if you handed me that. So, when I go to a doctor’s office, I sit and flip magazines just because I don’t know anything else to do, but I really can’t even tell who the people are. I can recognize people, but not from a distance, they have to be close.
JONI: And so you really do take a magnifying glass with you to the supermarket?
MELANIE: I really do!
JONI: Good for you! Mel, are there any particular things that happen that make it worse – what pushes you over the ledge?
MELANIE: I think it’s going into any new situation and having to experience it all over again, or tell the story one more time, or explain it to one of my kids’ teachers that I can’t drive on field trips; or, no, I can’t read the notes you sent home.
JONI: And what raises your perspective?
MELANIE: Well, I think faith has to be the number one thing, because faith is the essence of what you can’t see and I really do believe that God holds me in his hand.
JONI: I’ve never really thought about that. Faith is the substance of things you can’t see and you literally can’t see, so you have to experience that portion of Scripture on a deeper level.
Well, friend, there’s someone like Melanie in your neighborhood or in your congregation. Somebody who is legally blind and it doesn’t take much to make a difference. If you any more ideas on how you can serve, just visit us at joniandfriends.org. Mel, God bless you!
MELANIE: Thanks, Joni!
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JONI AND FRIENDS
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Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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