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Yulia Kolodotchka lived much of her life fearing she'd go blind. Then she discovered a vision of a higher power.
My only chance of success in any profession, I thought, was to study English. Because of my vision problems, high school teachers called me lazy and stupid, and gave me a very poor grade. Only one teacher was kind and objective and gave me an A in English.
I become cross-eyed at age 13, after my brother hit me. This was just one of many hurts I received from him. He began abusing me when I was six years old.
By age 16 I had my first corrective eye surgery.
Somehow I made it through high school, and decided to go to Minsk, the capital of Belarus. I wanted to study English, being 900 miles away from my family was an extra bonus. Four times I applied to the Linguistic University, until finally I was admitted.
Even though I was away at university, I couldn't escape my family problems. While I was there my brother stabbed my dad and threatened my mother. I felt helpless to change my life.
Belarus was experiencing some religious freedom at that time, and I bought a Bible. I understood almost nothing except the poetry in the books of Psalms and Job. I could relate as I read about people who cried from their souls to God. I wanted to find God.
One day, in desperation, I asked God, "Where are you?" At that moment I had a sense of His presence, and His voice saying, "I am here."
I wanted to know more about God, so I looked for Him in different churches. Eventually, I learned more about God's love for me, and that He sent His Son Jesus, who lived a perfect life, died and rose again to free me from the power of sin and death. I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life to be my forgiver and my leader.
That was a life-changing, hope-giving decision. God keeps telling me something new about Himself, and His blessings follow me. He helped me to forgive my brother. My parents and my nephew have come to know Him. Today I am a translator and teacher of English at the only college and graduate school in Belarus that teaches the Bible.
I've had more eye surgeries, and I cannot read a computer screen very well. I don't know what my vision will be like six months from now. But I do know that I'm not alone, and my hope is in God.
Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?
Living with hope
If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here's a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.
Is this the life for you?
If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you'll experience life to the fullest.
