Through her eyes.

Through her eyes,
I see a world that is vivid and full of hope.
In her I see strength,
patience,
and joy.

She may have lost one of the things that we feel we cannot live without, but she is not at all in the dark. My best friend may be blind, but she is aware of many things that you are not.

Sometimes I feel as though I don't see her full potential. I don't realize everything that she is quite capable of on her own. She surprises me with her ability and her wittiness about life. She is one of the strongest and most patient people I know.

I think about how many times on the trip across the country that I talked back or cut off my family as they tried to give me advice for different things; yet, when we would tell her things that I soon realized she already knew, she humbly acknowledged what we were saying. She had gentle and calm responses.

And, though she may go through trials, she keeps joy. She is one of the few people I can talk to about anything and I can't go a conversation without laughing. She has a true Christlikeness about her and is willing to admit that she doesn't know everything yet and that she does not have it all together yet.

Sometimes I wonder as I lead her on my arm, what it must be like to have to trust somebody that much. I think, without a doubt, that it builds a kind of character... the kind of character talked about in Romans 5:

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

As I close my eyes, while we drive through these painted hills, I imagine what she envisions as we describe the desert to her. She hangs on every detail and does not merely recite back our description when we talk about it later. Her world is full of beauty, just as mine is. And I would've thought that I would lose so much hope in a situation like that. I imagine what any other person might do in these circumstances. But, like a flower pushing through the hardest soil, she is resilient and thrives. She lets the hardest rain drops roll off of her back and when the harshest rays of the sun come, she stretches her leaves out during challenge. She is not afraid to try new things and she doesn't complain about her circumstances. She continues to hope and trust in the Lord, and she gives me great encouragement as one of my role models.