Mark Sorensen I downloaded a new app last week that I have absolutely fallen in love with. It’s called, “Be My Eyes.” I don’t work for the company, nor am I a paid endorser, but I have to tell you – it’s incredible.
The idea was born in 2012 in Denmark and the premise is pretty simple. It’s connecting those people who can see with people who are visually impaired for the sole purpose of helping them perform daily tasks that they need assistance with. Today, there are over 2,000,000 volunteers signed up through the app and over 120,000 people in need of assistance due to being blind or visually impaired.
When I downloaded the app, it instructed me that, due to the high number of volunteers, it may take a couple of weeks to actually get a notification that I am in need of helping someone. So, last Thursday, I got home from work, sat on the couch to talk with my wife when it happened: I got a notification of someone in need of assistance. I jumped up from the couch with the urgency of Batman and told my wife, “I’m sorry. Someone needs me.”
I stepped outside (ok, maybe I ran) and opened the app to see a stove displayed on the screen of my phone. I heard a voice saying, “Hello. My name is Marvin. I am cooking a TV dinner and I am home alone. I think my oven is set at 350 degrees but I’m not sure. Can you confirm this for me?” Marvin held the phone up to the knob, and it was not at 350 degrees; it was at 550 degrees. I told my new friend from Baltimore, “Unless you want that TV dinner super crispy, we’re gonna need to turn the knob to the right and get that temperature down.” We got it set to the correct temperature and then Marvin said, “Hey. We may never meet but you need to know – you made a difference in my life today. So, thank you.”
Incredible.
Two thoughts for you this morning, my friend.
One, you know God wants to do the same for you today if you have a need, right? I have to think that God gets just as excited as I did when I saw someone was in need. When we stop amidst our day and lift our cares, our worry, our fears and even our joys to the One who created us, I think our Father is overjoyed when we turn to Him and share our hearts. Find a moment today and spend some time telling your Abba, Father what’s on your heart. Two, as we lift our eyes to the One who created us, let us not forget to also see the ones God has placed in our path. I loved what Rev. Kimberly Constant said last week:
Compassion has feet.
We walk towards those who have a need, not just those we know – even the outcast, the stranger, the marginalized, the poor and the oppressed.
Our neighbor is defined as this: Everybody, always.
