An Incredible Investment Opportunity
What do you do with an almost blind orphan girl who is labeled hopelessly insane? In the 1870s, you locked them away in an asylum—and that was it. But for one woman, that was not the answer.
There is no record of her name, but one Christian woman saw this little girl as she saw every individual: someone made in God’s image who needed love. This woman worked at the asylum, so she devoted her lunch hour to sit in front of Little Anne’s cell. She read. She prayed. She talked. She brought cookies. But Little Anne was totally unresponsive.
The woman would not give up. She was convinced this poor girl just needed love. After months of effort, she discovered a brownie had disappeared from the plate left in front of Little Anne’s cell. She was encouraged, so she continued to read to Anne, talk to her, and pray for her. Over time, Anne opened up. They began to talk. When this unknown woman convinced the doctors to work with Anne, they discovered this angry, hostile little girl had become gentle and loving. In fact, she started helping others. Within a few years, Anne was released from the hospital to enjoy a normal life.
But Anne didn’t settle into a normal life. She chose to help others who suffered as she had suffered with her eyesight. And that’s how Anne Sullivan ended up in the employment of Captain Keller to help his blind and deaf daughter, Helen.
Years later, when Helen Keller met the queen of England, the queen asked her, ““How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to accomplish so much?” Helen gave credit to Anne Sullivan. “If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown.”
We applaud the efforts of Anne Sullivan who invested in a hopeless little girl named Helen. But we should also applaud an unknown Christian woman who invested in a hopeless little girl named Anne. She did not receive the praise Anne Sullivan did—we don’t even know her name!—but the worldwide influence and humanitarian work of Helen Keller would not have happened without her.
We have a terrible habit of “writing people off.” We shake our heads in superficial sympathy for whatever condition they might be in, but that’s all we do. What if each of us took the time to invest in one person, one person who doesn’t have the opportunities we have? It might be physical, mental, or economic challenges, but we could truly make a difference. We just need to love and care for them like Jesus does.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40).
We might not receive the praise of others for our love and efforts, but we will receive the best praise of all: the blessing of God
“‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (v. 34).
Thank you for being an Anne Sullivan to someone else.
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Banner photo by PickPik.
