She explained that she was flying to visit her fi fteen-year-old daughter， who was in danger of dying after a routine surgery had gone terribly wrong. I did my best to comfort the mother. We talked for nearly the entire flight. I even drew a smile from her after she told me she was nervous about flying.
“You can hold my hand if you like，” I teased.
When we landed at our destination， the mother thanked me for comforting her. I told her I was grateful that I’d ended up seated next to her on the plane after so many delays and gate changes.
God had not wasted my time that day. He knew what He was doing. He put me next to that woman to help her with her fears and grief. The more I thought about that day， the more grateful I was for the chance to offer this woman a sympathetic ear.
CREATIVE VISION
A lost loved one， a broken relationship， a financial setback， or an illness can break you if you let grief and despair overtake you. One way to fight through those challenges is to stay alert for what rises up even when life seems to be taking you down.
I met the photographer Glennis Siverson on the set of The Butterfly Circus. Though she lives in Orlando， Glennis had come to California to serve as the set photographer at the invitation of the directors and her friends the Weigels. Glennis is an award-winning photographer whose work is commissioned by magazines， corporations， newspapers， and Web sites. She also does portrait and nature photography. She loves photography. It is her passion.
But for more than twenty years， Glennis worked in the human resources field for big companies. She lost her “safe and secure” job in the recession. Glennis took that kick in the pants and used the forward momentum to pursue her passion. She became a full-time photographer.
“I decided it was now or never！” she said.
Great story， right？ Glennis is a real-life example of someone who took a potentially negative event and used it as an opportunity to create an even better life.
Terrifi c！ Wonderful！
But there‘s more. You see， Glennis， the award-winning photographer， can hardly see. She is legally blind.
“Ever since I was a child I have had poor eyesight，” she said. “I got glasses at age five and my vision kept getting worse. Then around 1995 I was diagnosed with corneal disease. The cornea is misshapen and degenerates. It got to the point that I couldn’t see out of my left eye. Since I had extremely severe nearsightedness， it was past the threshold to get Lasik surgery. My only option was a cornea transplant.”
In 2004 Glennis underwent that surgery. Her doctor had told her that it would correct the vision in her left eye to 20/40 without glasses or contacts. “But everything that could go wrong pretty much did—short of losing my eye，” she said. “The operation made my vision worse. I also got glaucoma as a result. My vision worsened in my left eye， and then， unrelated to the operation， I had a hemorrhage on the retina of my right eye. So I have a blind spot on it.”
Laid off from her job of twenty years， and all but blinded by failed surgery and a hemorrhaged retina， Glennis could not be blamed for despairing and giving up. You might expect her to grow bitter and angry.
Instead， she was grateful to soar higher and farther. “I don‘t think of myself as disabled. I think of myself as enabled， because being nearly blind has made me a better photographer，” she said.
She can no longer see fine details， but instead of feeling deprived， she is grateful that she is free not to obsess about the little things anymore.
“Prior to losing most of my eyesight， if I was doing portrait photography， I was focused on every strand of hair and every angle of the person’s body. My work looked stiff because I was so focused on composition. But now my approach is pretty much a gut reaction. I feel it. I see it， and I shoot it. My work is more instinctual， and I interact with people and surroundings much more.
Glennis said her photographs now are flawed but are more artful， more compelling. “One gal actually cried when she saw my images of her because she felt I‘d captured her so well，” she said. “I had never moved anyone emotionally before.”
Since she lost much of her eyesight， Glennis has won ten international awards for her portrait and landscape photography.
One of her photos was selected from sixteen thousand entries for an exhibition of just 111 works. She’s had photos selected for four exhibitions at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins， Colorado.
Her blindness would never have allowed Glennis to continue her job in human resources， but many great artists such as Monet and Beethoven thrived despite disabilities because they used them as opportunities to explore their art in new and fresh ways. Grateful， Glennis told me that her favorite Bible verse is now “We live by faith， not by sight.”
“That literally is my life now. I‘ve had to make adjustments， sure. I worry about being totally blind. It’s been very， very scary. There is no manual for this.”
She is on a new path， but instead of seeing it as a disruption in her life， she views it as a gift. “I‘d been very controlling before. Now I try to live day to day and enjoy each moment，” she said. “I also try to be grateful that I have a roof over my head and I’m alive and the sun is shining and I don‘t worry about tomorrow because we never know what tomorrow will bring.”
Glennis is a great lady， who embraces opportunity， don’t you agree？ She inspires me， and I hope she inspires you to look for ways to advance your dreams， choose them wisely， and then act upon them when your heart says “go.”
