cover image With Fresh Eyes: 60 Insights into the Miraculously Ordinary from a Woman Born Blind

With Fresh Eyes: 60 Insights into the Miraculously Ordinary from a Woman Born Blind

Karen Wingate. Kregel, $18.99 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-0-8254-4681-8

Ministry leader Wingate shares in her engrossing debut lessons learned after suddenly regaining her sense of vision. Born legally blind, Wingate underwent surgeries in her youth during the 1960s that gave her limited eyesight. When a doctor discovered a tear in Wingate’s retina decades after the original surgeries, she had another procedure yet was skeptical of the doctor’s promise of better-than-ever eyesight. But two weeks later, she was able to read the numbers on her scale and to see the texture of dirt, the smoke of fireworks, and other mundane details that, to her, were thrilling. In 60 brief chapters, Wingate shares the small and joyful experiences of her new eyesight and offers short homilies on topics such as gratitude or trusting God: “Choosing to trust God for his protection is a mindset, an intentional decision made before danger happens.” Her chronicles of minor moments (watching clouds pass or squirrels play, and reading song lyrics for the first time) pave the way for her preaching of God’s power to provide one with wholeness. This is a promising work for Christians looking for vibrant personal devotions or material for sermons. (Nov.)