When You’re So ready for Your Faith To Become Sight

Pull up your chair and lean in today with a trusted friend who will take us on a fragrant walk … in the dark. She is my dearest, dearest friend, the beloved Bible teacher, Jennifer Rothschild, and she’s has one incredible new video-based Bible study on Heaven — and wait for it — included below is a video of a face-to-face absolutely delightful, deeply edifying conversation that Jenn and I shared, what we’ve been so excited to share with you… about, yes, Heaven, our Father’s House, the place where one day, our faith will become sight. You’re about to experience such a heart full of encouragement for today as you think about “that day” and begin to breathe in the fragrance of Heaven. It’s is my utter joy to welcome Jennifer to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Jennifer Rothschild

I’ve walked many miles in the dark, yet my eyes are drawn to the place where there is no more night, no darkness at all.

Since becoming blind at age fifteen, I’ve held the arms of friends, family, and strangers to navigate my unending darkness. I’ve held tight to my faith and been held by God’s grace through every dark day. And I’ve also held a white cane. I have definitely walked by faith and not by sight—in a very literal sense.

I’ll never forget how Mike, my mobility instructor, finished up my first lesson of learning to walk in the dark.

I was seventeen years old when I got my first white cane, and with it I got Mike, the amazing guy who taught me how to use it. During that first lesson, he showed me how to navigate safely and helped me gain some independence. He walked me around my neighborhood, pointing out how to hold the cane, how to tap it, and how to anticipate all the rough places I would encounter.  

Sweaty from the Miami heat, and probably from the stress I felt, we turned the last corner toward my home. He paused and asked, “Do you smell it?” 

“The fragrance of Heaven is wafting along the path you walk even if you haven’t noticed it yet.“

I stopped and breathed in my surroundings. I did smell it. A lush bush of blooming hibiscus was right there on the corner near my home. 

“When you smell the flowers,” Mike said, “you know you’re almost home.” 

So, my friend, I ask you what Mike asked me… “Do you smell it?” 

Pause and breathe in your surroundings.

The fragrance of Heaven is wafting along the path you walk even if you haven’t noticed it yet.

It is your reminder that your home, your Father’s House, Heaven, is not far away. In fact, it is just around the corner—one breath, one heartbeat away. Even if it’s decades, millions of heartbeats away from being experienced physically, it is still our eternal home. By faith, Heaven is our unseen reality that makes all we see here beam with shimmering and unshakeable hope.

On this side of eternity, we each walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). But there will be a day when the fragrance of those flowers is so strong that we will know, we will know we are almost home. Yet that scent of eternity is drawing us even now to the beauty, the hope, and assurance of our ultimate home: Heaven.

“Yet, Heaven is not just a “not yet, won’t it be nice, hold on until then” reality. The reality of our future home in Heaven gives us present light, right now hope, current peace, real time security, timeless beauty, and a forever promise.“

Heaven is when our faith becomes sight. Heaven is our glorious unending. Heaven is what Jesus calls His “Father’s house” (John 14:1-3). Jesus even told His disciples about Heaven so their hearts would not be troubled. I love that!

Jesus knows that as we walk by faith, we face trouble and feel the stress of the journey. He assures us of Heaven so we can travel with untroubled hearts.

Yet, Heaven is not just a “not yet, won’t it be nice, hold on until then” reality.  The reality of our future home in Heaven gives us present light, right now hope, current peace, real time security, timeless beauty, and a forever promise.

Heaven is hope that tiptoes into hospital rooms whispering peace that is louder than the voice of despair. 

Heaven is light that pushes into the dark corners of our deepest fears, casting out the shadows of dread and replacing them with bright hope.

Heaven is an anchor, grounding us with a far greater weight of glory when our souls are in tumult.

And, for these blind eyes, Heaven is beauty that never fails to filter into the ordinary sepia tone of my shadowy world, making every seemingly dull or uninteresting moment burst with living color that even I can experience. 

“… the reality of Heaven fortifies us in the face of uncertainty, anchors us in deep spiritual serenity, and grounds us in eternity. “

Oh, my friend, Heaven’s promise reverberates through every tear you ever have and ever will shed, making each quake with the dawning realization that their time is limited.

There will come a day when the very last tear will be wiped away from your cheek, from my cheek, from humanity’s cheek (Revelation 21:4). So, “let not your heart be troubled.”

When we slow down, notice and tune into eternity, we begin to breathe in the fragrance of Heaven. And, when we do, the reality of Heaven fortifies us in the face of uncertainty, anchors us in deep spiritual serenity, and grounds us in eternity. 

So, as we navigate bright and dark days here, we hold on to our faith and we are held by God’s grace. The shadows we may face and feel here—sickness, uncertainty, stress, sorrow—all will eventually lift when we are captivated by that sweet aroma that ushers us into the presence of the One whose face we will clearly see—when our faith becomes sight!  

But until then, there’s such joy in knowing —

Earth is short and Heaven is long.

So we Had a Conversation at the Historic Village Table church & This Conversation Jenn & I had together was Just So Soul-Edifying!

Jennifer Rothschild is a beloved author, speaker, and Bible teacher who has written 20 books and Bible studies. Known for her substance, signature wit, and down-to-earth style, she’s also the founder of Fresh Grounded Faith women’s events and hosts the 4:13 Podcast, offering practical encouragement and biblical wisdom to help others live the “I can” life of Philippians 4:13. 

Jennifer has been blind since age 15 and says the greatest lesson she’s learned in the dark is that it doesn’t have to be well with your circumstances to be well with your soul. She’s an obsessive audiobook listener, a C.S. Lewis junkie, and a dark chocolate lover, and she lives in Springfield, Missouri with her very own Dr. Phil. 

In her latest 7-session video-based study, Heaven: When Faith Becomes Sight, Jennifer explores the subject of Heaven from a biblical perspective. She separates what’s true about Heaven from what’s based on legend, media depictions, and hopeful guesses. As you walk through the study, you’ll not only gain a deeper understanding of what God has prepared for His children, but also learn how to live with confidence today as you look forward to the glorious unending that awaits.

It’s 5 star! Don’t just wonder about Heaven—embrace it with a faith that turns anticipation into excitement and peace.