Book Report~'Lessons I Learned in the Dark'

by Jennifer Rothschild

Jennifer spoke at a Women of Faith Conference a year or two ago. I met her when I bought her books. She is a beautiful woman and her eyes are unusually lovely. She became blind in her high school years. I've read this book twice now and I like the depth of her spiritual perception. She is also a singer and writes her own songs. I have selected some of my favorite parts of her writings to share with you.

"We often think that faith is a recipe for getting what we want from God. If that were true, it would mean that if I could just muster enough faith, I would no longer be blind. But faith is not meant to offer an escape from life's difficulties; its purpose is to give strength to endure them. God allows hardship because of His great mercy and love for us, and He often removes it for the same reason. However, we should not thank Him more fervently on the day our difficult gift is removed than we do on the days we carry it. It takes just as much faith to bear a burden as it does to believe that it can be removed."

"One of our most basic needs is to be known. Yet human companionship cannot provide the kind of complete knowing that our soul craves. God alone can do that because, as our Creator and our constant companion, He knows us completely. If we're truly honest, we have to admit that our desire to be known by Him is far greater than our desire to be independent..."

"If the isolation that accompanies blindness compels me to a deeper connection with God, I am the richer. All of us need to treasure anything within us that makes us feel just a little detached from the greater arena of human experience, for it may be the one thing that God mercifully gives us to tie us to Himself and fill our need to be known by Him."

"...He told me that my hope for healing is in Him alone. Therefore, my soul can wait--wait as long as it takes, even if it never happens here on earth. He alone--not my healing--is my rock and my refuge. My deliverance from blindness is not my source of hope...He is."

"...unless God chooses to heal me here on earth, the very first face I'll see with clarity will be the face of Jesus."

You can read more about Jennifer on her website-JenniferRothschild.com