What Do You See? When God Expands Your Vision Through Unexpected Encounters

There are moments when God quietly, almost imperceptibly, stretches the borders of our vision. And then there are days when it feels like He grabs us by the shoulders, turns our face, and says, Look.

Yesterday was one of those days.

I went to visit a woman with stage 4 bone cancer. I’d never met her before, but I came to pray, to stand in faith with her for healing, strength, and peace. We talked, prayed, cried a little. And then she did something I didn’t expect—she handed me a signed copy of her book. It was about how to live well with a terminal illness.

Let that sink in.

Here she was—suffering, yet full of grace. Facing death, yet offering life through her words. I showed up hoping to bless her, but I walked away the one undone. Her faith didn’t just move me—it wrecked me in the best way possible.

The next day, two letters arrived. They were from men in prison I’d written to a few weeks back. I had no idea if they’d write back—or if my letters would even make it to them. But they did. And their replies were raw, honest, and painfully human. Trauma. Regret. Questions. Glimmers of hope. The kind of writing that strips away all pretense.

As I read their words, something stirred deep in me. They weren’t just inmates—they were people. And the more I read, the more I realized: they’re not so different from me. We’ve all known brokenness. We’ve all needed grace. They’re just on the other side of a wall.

That night, I was reading in Amos and came across a verse where God asks the prophet, “What do you see?” (Amos 7:8). And that question wouldn’t let go of me. I felt like God was asking me the same thing:

What do you see, really?

Do you see the diagnosis—or the person whose faith is outshining their pain?

Do you see the prisoner—or the image-bearer of God, still searching for hope?

Do you see what I see?

That question is still echoing in my heart.

I think sometimes we ask God to show us His glory, but we forget He often shows it through people—especially the ones we overlook. The hurting. The forgotten. The faithful fighters clinging to hope. The broken ones who still believe there might be beauty on the other side.

God is expanding my vision. He’s helping me see—not just look.

And I just wanted to share that with you. Because His glory can’t be hidden. It shows up in hospital rooms, behind prison walls, and in ordinary days that suddenly become sacred.

Where is God asking you to look again?

With love and expectation,