When It Gets Difficult

I wouldn’t normally be writing on a Saturday, but I missed a day this week, so this is for the continuity. That seems appropriate since the whole post itself is going to be about difficulty. The July – August issue of Hearing Loss Magazine has a front cover picture which I can’t reproduce, since it’s copyrighted — and i have no money for permissions. But try this: http://www.hearingloss.org/membership/hearing-loss-magazine/current-issue

Timothy Chambers, featured on the cover is a man who has Usher Syndrome. That is, he is not only deaf and getting deafer (like myself), but also losing his eyesight. This would be difficulty enough, one might think, but then there’s Timothy Chamber’s profession. He is a portrait painter. The rosebuds he has been gathering are graduallybecoming invisible. I can tell from the article about him — and I recommend reading it — that Timothy Chambers is a large-hearted individual. He is not just living with his difficulty. He is continuing to pursue his vocation. For as long as he can. As best as he can. And cheerfully, full of the faith that informs his particular life. That’s what it comes down to, for all of us, any of us. Life is full of losses and substitutions. From Anne Landers to Job, people have spoken of it more eloquently than I can. But i do want to notice it. It may be the essence of what I’m trying to frame this blog around. First there’s what we’re born with. Then, there’s what we keep on having. And then there’s what we do with it. It’s always a dance, no matter how you do it.