Uniquely Gifted to Help

Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, [that spiritual endowment]....

— 1 Timothy 4:14 (AMP)

Helen Keller achieved amazing goals despite being unable to see or hear. At 19 months of age, an illness caused her to go completely blind and completely deaf.

Helen's parents sought help for her in Boston at Perkins School for the Blind. The Perkins School assigned a tutor named Anne Sullivan to work with the child. Helen was terribly frustrated and often became resistant and violently angry.

Many teachers would have lost their patience, but Anne Sullivan kept her composure and persisted in her efforts to teach Helen. Eventually, Helen learned to read Braille, to write, and even to speak.

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Helen also decided she wanted to attend college. Anne Sullivan helped her prepare and gain acceptance to Radcliffe College, associated with Harvard University. With Sullivan's help, she graduated with honors, having mastered several languages, four years later.

While in college, Helen started a writing career that would last more than 50 years. She went on to receive many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A vital key to her success was the fact that Anne Sullivan believed in her. Her patience, wisdom, and teaching ability combined to make her a uniquely gifted teacher for Helen.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for my unique gifts and talents. Help me to be “others-minded” and use these gifts to bless the lives of other people. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.