The name of Helen Keller is a name that is known worldwide. Although she spent almost her entire life deaf and blind, Helen Keller became a symbol to the entire world of the unlimited potential the human spirit possesses to overcome personal trials and handicaps. To this incredible woman, being deaf and blind, only propelled her on to greatness. She was the author of 12 books, graduated from Radcliffe College with honors, contributed $2 million to a foundation to help others, and once remarked: “The Bible is one mighty representative of the whole spiritual life of humanity.”1 Yet even without sight Helen Keller understood that true meaning in life is not seen with the eye but felt with the heart. She also shared: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”2
At 19 months old Helen Keller was struck by a mysterious illness that left her deaf and blind. But through an amazing set of providential meetings, she went on to become the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. In addition, she traveled the world lecturing and advancing many social causes and of course bringing attention to handicaps such as blindness. Let’s take a look at two of these providential meetings.
The first such providential meeting is when Helen’s parents contacted the Perkins Institute for the Blind in South Boston. On the suggestion of the school’s director a young 20-year-old alumna named Anne Sullivan was asked to become Helen’s instructor. This was the beginning of a wonderful and sometimes tumultuous 50-year-long relationship between the two. And how fortunate this relationship proved because young Miss Sullivan through an amazing amount of patience and teaching skills was able to transform hopeless Helen into a beacon that helped light the pathways for countless millions all over the world. Anne Sullivan saw Helen as one of God’s special people and never gave up on loving, praying and working with her until the once hopeless little Helen was transformed into the miracle she was truly to become.
Once when asked by the Queen of England how she was able to accomplish so much being deaf and blind Helen was quick to answer that if it were not for Anne Sullivan the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown.
But the story of Anne Sullivan is not very well known but she turned out to be a miracle in her own right. For you see Little Annie, as she was known as a young girl, spent a part of her young life in a mental institution just outside Boston. Her doctors felt that she was hopelessly insane and consigned her to a literal dungeon as her living quarters. But at the same time that Little Annie was given up on an elderly nurse, who was nearing retirement at that same institution, began to eat her lunch near the small cage that Annie was housed in inside the dungeon. For you see this nurse felt that there was hope for all of God’s children and prayed that somehow she could communicate some hope to Little Annie.
So, on her weekly lunch visits to the dungeon this compassionate nurse would always bring brownies for Little Annie. At first she wouldn’t even acknowledge the nurse’s presence but she would always take the brownies. After a while the doctors noticed a positive change in this once hopeless case and after a period of time the improvement became so noticeable that they moved Little Annie back with the other patients upstairs in the institution. As she continued to improve she became a model patient and student and was told she could return home. She, however, felt that she wanted to stay and help the other patients. And she did!
You see if it wasn’t for Anne Sullivan the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown. And if it wasn’t for the elderly nurse and her compassion and “brownies” the name of Anne Sullivan would have also remained unknown. In the kingdom of God, we see that God works in wonderful and mysterious ways. Helen Keller became famous and an inspiration to millions because of the love and work of Anne Sullivan. And Anne Sullivan became a gifted teacher to the handicapped because of an elderly nurse. God’s providence and divine meetings can indeed cause wonderful miracles to occur. So why not encourage someone today. You may never know what type of impact you will have on that person or other people down the line.
1 Christianquotes.info: https://www.christianquotes.info/top-quotes/21-awesome-quotes-from-helen-keller/
2 Ibid.
WOW…I didn’t know that about Annie Sullivan. This is so interesting Curt…thank you!
Elaine