Walk by faith, not by sight

When disease stole Jennifer Rothschild’s sight at 15, her dreams of being a commercial artist came crashing down. The Miami, Fla., native might have given up. Instead, she turned to God for the strength and will to go on. Today, Rothschild is an accomplished author, speaker and recording artist. She recently released her second book, Touched by His Unseen Hand (Multnomah, 2004). Rothschild and her husband, Philip, have two sons, Clayton and Connor. She spoke recently with Assistant Editor Ashli O’Connell.

PE: Your dreams had to change dramatically when you lost your sight. How did you find the path to where you are now?

ROTHSCHILD: It found me. When I received Christ, I was totally captivated. My natural response as I walked through my teenage years was just abandonment toward Him. I never sought to achieve anything like writing or singing. They occurred as a result of my walk with Him.

The ministry we receive is from God for us to become His hands. We can’t take credit for it. I do believe in stewardship, though. I believe God has trusted me with this position, and I want to walk humbly and be a good steward of the opportunity. But I don’t ever want to take ownership of what God has done.

PE: What’s the message of your new book?

ROTHSCHILD: We all feel overwhelmed sometimes. We’ve got pressures and circumstances that can deplete us. I want readers to know that there is One who wants to overwhelm us in a different way. God wants to overwhelm us with His touch. While we all know how important human touch is, I try to show how God has touched us throughout the ages, and today. His touch has rescued us and empowered us to live a life of abundance.

It plays nicely off the foundation I laid with my first book, Lessons I Learned in the Dark, in which I encouraged readers to walk by faith and not by sight. I wrote Touched by His Unseen Hand from the vantage point that, though I cannot physically see, the eyes of my heart have been enlightened so that I can see God’s invisible fingerprints.

PE: Do you think you would have that insight if you were not blind?

ROTHSCHILD: God has used blindness to help me see things that are invisible — to look beyond the surface and have an eternal, rather than temporal, perspective.

PE: People might assume that blindness is your greatest obstacle. Is that true?

Lessons I Learned in the Dark Jennifer Rothschild and Beth Moore #03TQ6104 Touched by His Unseen Hand Jennifer Rothschild #03TQ6105 To order, click here or call 1-800-641-4310

ROTHSCHILD: My greatest obstacle is more universal. It has to do with my attitude and perspective. Blindness just gives me an opportunity to be more acquainted with the choices I have — to be better or bitter, grateful or angry, to persevere or to quit. Those are not blindness issues, but attitude issues.

PE: What have your sons taught you about life?

ROTHSCHILD: My youngest is 5. About two years ago he began to understand that I couldn’t see. One day the lady that helps me, Miss Pat, was driving him home from school. Connor was still trying to figure out what it means to be blind. He asked, “Why doesn’t Mommy drive me home from school?”

Miss Pat said, “You know why, Connor. It’s because your mommy is blind.”

Connor said, “Oh yeah, that’s right. She walks by faith and not by sight.” That’s just an example of what they’ve taught me: not to complicate the truth, just to live it out with simplicity and trust.

PE: What advice do you have for mothers of children with disabilities?

ROTHSCHILD: My mother had courage. Many times she made me do things I didn’t want to do. She helped me risk things I didn’t want to risk. That instilled a tenacity I’m not sure I would have had otherwise. One of the greatest struggles for a mother is to know how to balance her sense of protectiveness with courage. Her courage will create courage in her child. And that’s really what she wants — a child who is able to face the world with independence and trust.

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