The other day, I went to the Apple store because something was wrong with my phone (or so I thought). When my name was called, one of the employees (I think they're called Geniuses?) informed me that a guy named Shane would be assisting me today. Ok, great. I thought to myself. Let's get this show on the road. For some reason, going to the Apple store always stresses me out. Maybe it's because there are always so many people there, or maybe it's because whenever I ask for help I am reminded of how little I know about technology. The point is: if I had to list my favorite stores, the Apple store wouldn't make the cut.
But this time was unlike any other experience I'd had at the Apple store. As the first guy I met introduced me to Shane, the guy who would hopefully fix my problem, I realized that something was different about Shane. His eyes were almost completely closed, and he had a small keypad-type thing across which his fingers were rapidly moving. It didn't take me long to figure it out: Shane was blind.
For a split second I thought, How can he help me? He can't even see my phone. However, something told me to just go with it. Shane and I made small talk for a bit before he got down to business. When I introduced myself, he asked if I spelled my name with an "h." I told him that I did, and he replied, "Good. That's the right way to spell Sarah." I immediately liked him. (But I couldn't help but wonder what he would have said if I had told him that I didn't spell my name with an "h.")
When I explained my problem to Shane, he patiently listened, all the while running his fingers across his keypad. After I finished, he said, "What you have here isn't a problem." It isn't? I thought, slightly confused. He continued, "It's a circumstance. Problems have a solution. Circumstances mean you just have to adapt." He explained that what I had believed to be a problem with my phone was actually just something that I didn't understand (of course, he said it in a much nicer way). Now, the moral of this story isn't that it's possible to be able to work in the Apple store, even without the ability to see (even though that's pretty cool in and of itself). What I love about my interaction with Shane is how he showed me that so often the things I consider problems that require solutions are merely circumstances that require my willingness to adapt.
During those few minutes I spent with Shane, I realized that he doesn't view life as a series of problems and solutions, but rather as a journey of circumstances and adaptations. I mean, think about it: as a blind man, he could be sitting around feeling sorry for himself and wishing that he could see, and I certainly wouldn't blame him. But instead, he chooses to live his life as a glass-half-full type of guy. Shane shared with me that in addition to having worked at the Apple store for 4 years, he was about to finish his first year of law school. Talk about an inspiration.
When I walked into the Apple store the other day, I certainly didn't expect to walk out with a new perspective on life. But that's exactly how God works, isn't it? I know how the cliché saying goes: "Everything happens for a reason." But it's so true. God strategically places people (and circumstances) in our lives for a specific purpose. I'm so grateful that He allowed me to cross paths with Shane, even if it was for a brief moment, to show me that life is full of circumstances, and what's important is how we choose to react to them. And on top of that, I'm not afraid of the Apple store anymore.
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