A Friend That Changed The World

Helen Keller’s life is an amazing story of overcoming great adversity and disadvantage. Yes, Hellen Keller is real. There is film footage of her available on YouTube. Stop with all that nonsense.

If you’re fuzzy on the details of Helen’s life, let me give you the cliff notes version. Helen Keller was born a healthy baby, but at 19 months, an illness left her blind and deaf. As a result of her deafness, she was unable to speak. For almost 15 years, her parents had no idea what to do with her. Her disability severely hindered her development. She became uncontrollable, and many viewed her more as an animal than a human.

But everything changed when a friend entered her life. You see, out of desperation, her mother hired a tutor from South Boston named Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Helen how to sign and even speak through groundbreaking techniques. Helen called meeting Sullivan her “soul's birthday.”

Keller, once unable to communicate or understand the world around her, became an important and influential activist for special needs and disabilities. She met presidents, wrote 12 books, and toured the world speaking on disability awareness and solutions. Did you know there is even an anime about the life of Helen Keller?

Helen could not have achieved all her progress on her own. A caring and patient friend entered Helen's life and transformed her world. Because Helen's world was changed, our world was changed.

In the last week of our Friendsgiving series, we will see how the entrance of Christ, our greatest friend, becomes our soul’s birthday. I look forward to worshiping with you tomorrow!