“The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.”  Psalm 23:1 NIV

There are many national days in October -Halloween Safety Month, National Sausage Month, Adopt a Shelter Dog and so forth.  It is also World Blindness Awareness Month.  Established October 2009 by the Little Rock Foundation, in Voorhees, NJ, the subject of blindness and visual impairment needs to be spotlighted.  Healthy vision is invariably pivotal!

Around the world, about 2.2 billion people have vision impairment.  An estimated 94 million people have cataracts, 57.5 million people have glaucoma and 826 million have farsightedness caused by loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye, occurring typically in middle and old age.

According to WHO the World Health Organization “everyone, if they live long enough, will experience at least one eye condition in their lifetime.”  About half of these cases blindness could have been preventable.  To see, one of the major 5 senses, awareness, understanding, maintaining is vital for personal health and promotion.

Top 5 things you can do is 1) watch your sugar, the effects of diabetes can lead to blindness or visual impairment 25x more likely than non-diabetics.  2) wear UVA/UVB sunglasses, to protect your eyes from harmful ultra violet sun rays.  3) Avoid eye strain by taking frequent eye breaks. 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 secs.  Use drops/blink often, get anti-glare screens and just get off computer outside of work at least every 2 hours.

In Jesus’ day just like today, many people were sick, lame, poor and blind.  Jesus healed those he touched, who wanted to be healed.  People followed him from everywhere, going anywhere for that healing.  Like a good shepherd, as he self claimed in John 10:11, he cared for the flock.  A shepherd is a person responsible for guiding the sheep-protecting, leading, serving and attending to their needs.  Sheep cannot survive without a shepherd because they require constant care and watching over.  They can die from direct predator attacks, unsustainable injuries and even just from panic.  They have little ability to defend each other though they band together.  Alone and independent we are in danger, referenced as astrayed sheep in the Bible (Isa 53:6 & 1 Pet 2:25.)

Concern (C):  Sister, spiritually speaking, do you see or are you blind and going astray?  Matt 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Encouragement (E} Jesus sees you!  Rd Psalm 121:3-8.  Vs 7-8 Commit to heart, “The Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”  God is so good!

Act (A):  Let God lead you.  In Ps 23 it says”… he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides still waters, he refreshes my soul, he guides me for his name’s sake “.  However are you letting God do these things?  Sheep have very little job to do graze, follow, rest etc.  Stop worrying, trying to figure it all out and making it all happen.  Not saying to not prepare and do your best, but understand that God has got this all rod and staff in hand.  Yes! Sister, when it’s out of your control, leave it for the Shepherd’s role. 

For more info:  https://nationaltoday.com/blindness-awareness-month/,

Advocate for World Blindness Month! 1) Donate money to help visually impaired like National Federation for the Blind.  2) Read/buy books for the blind.  Read to an elderly neighbor or volunteer your reading services. Visit state services for the blind online. 3) Get Be My Eyes, free app that connects sighted volunteers to the visual impaired lending their eyes so that people can lead more independent lives.