“I’m going to have to paraphrase a quote I wanted to share with you because for some reason I just accidentally deleted it… It’s cool, because it’s easy for us to get focused on the problems we’re going through- the stress or what we’re worried about- or if you’re like me, you’re borrowing trouble from a few days from now, or years from now. It’s easy to keep our eyes on that when God tells us ‘don’t do that.’ There’s a reason. The quote goes something like: ‘Yeah, we can notice that there are so many adversities, so many problems in this world and in our lives, but don’t forget this world is also filled with the overcoming of those problems. God helps us overcome them.’ Guess who said that? Someone who had to overcome a lot- Helen Keller. She went on to say things and do things that inspired so many others, when it would have been easy for her to focus on her problems and no one would have blamed her for it.” Julie Pierce
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
Helen Keller
In case you don’t know, or are a little rusty on the details of Helen Keller’s life, today we have for you a synopsis of her life and why her legacy is so extraordinary.
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Helen Keller’s Life
After a bout of sickness at 19 months of age, Helen was left deaf and blind, but her transformation from totally helpless to an able communicator and lifelong learner and servant has made her one of humankind’s greatest examples of perseverance and optimism. By the time Helen was 7, she already used over 60 signs to communicate with her family and could tell them apart by the vibration of their footsteps. None of this would have been possible without the vision, passion, and patience of Anne Sullivan, Helen’s beloved teacher.
Anne Sullivan was hired as a teacher for Helen, and arrived to her house on March 5, 1887, a day Helen called “her soul’s birthday.” Because Helen did not understand the concept that every individual thing had a name to identify it, at first she was frustrated by her teacher’s attempts to teach her words. The month after Anne’s arrival, however, Helen had a breakthrough. Anne was running water over Helen’s hand, while on the other hand tracing the letters w-a-t-e-r. The story of the account, as written in The Story of My Life: “I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten- a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that w-a-t-e-r meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. The living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, set it free!” After that, Helen demanded to learn the name of every other object she came in contact with.
Helen became the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. She became an effective speaker and lecturer, spreading her hope, cheer, and inspiration to all who heard her. She also became an author, and published her first book before she even graduated college. She went on to co-found the American Foundation for Overseas Blind to help veterans blinded during combat in World War 1 and the ACLU. She served as a spokesperson for the American Foundation for the Blind from 1924 til her death in 1968 and traveled extensively for the American Foundation for Overseas Blind.
What Her Example Means To Us
Helen Keller’s story is fascinating because it’s so unexpected. Imagine someone who is unable to hear, unable to speak, and unable to see. The situation seems hopeless, right? It wasn’t for Helen, and our situations that seem hopeless aren’t either! Helen was able to overcome what seemed like insurmountable odds because she didn’t give up and she made the most of what she had. She tirelessly helped people facing similar struggles, even when no one would have expected her to do anything. The example I think we can all take from Helen Keller is to persevere through tough circumstances and keep our focus on others instead of ourselves.
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God bless you. Stay hopeful! ❤️
