April 16, 2025 • 28 mins
Lizzie Eastham and Sam Rickard present Studio 1 - Vision Australia Radio’s weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view.
On this week’s show
"Blind Faith”
We explore the role of faith in our lives, particularly how it influences our perspective on living with a vision impairment. How does faith shape our outlook, especially when we’re faced with questions like, “Why me?”
Studio 1 welcomes any input from our listeners. If you have any experience or thoughts about issues covered in this episode or believe there is something we should be talking about.
EMAIL: studio1@visionaustralia.org or leave comment on the station’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VARadioNetwork
A special thank you to Matt and Shaleah.
This program was made possible with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find out more at https://cbf.org.au/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:06):
This is studio one on Vision Australia Radio.
S2 (00:16):
Hello, I'm Sam and I'm Lizzie, and this is Studio One,
your weekly look at life from a low vision and
blind point of view. Here on Vision Australia Radio.
S3 (00:23):
On this week's show, as we're heading into Easter, we
explore the role of faith in our lives, particularly how
it influences our perspective on living with a vision impairment.
How does faith shape our outlook? Especially when we're faced
with questions like why me?
S2 (00:39):
As we always say at this point, please do get
in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of
any of the issues covered on this week's episode of
Studio One, or if you think there's something we should
be talking about, you never know. Your story and insight
may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar.
S3 (00:54):
You can email us at Studio One at Vision Australia.
That's studio number one at Vision Australia. Or of course,
you can drop us a note on our Facebook page
by going to facebook.com. Hello, Sam.
S2 (01:11):
Hello there. So this is a topic I don't think
that our show has covered before. Um, it sort of
takes me a little bit out of my comfort zone,
but sometimes to do something interesting, you've got to be
outside your comfort zone.
S3 (01:24):
Well, of course, we've stepped right out of your comfort
zone and right into mine. I have to say, this
is a topic that I'm very passionate about. As someone
who is of the Christian faith myself. Now, I will
say that we have two interviews, one with Matt and
one with Shelia, and they both are of the Christian faith.
But this is by no means, you know, the only
faith out there. Of course we have, you know, Australians
(01:48):
who are Islamic and Buddhist. So we want to hear
from you. If you celebrated Ramadan, if you know you're
a Buddhist.
S2 (01:55):
I know at least one of you out there who
would probably quite be quite happy to, uh, pass on, um,
your opinions on these things? Yes, Zell. I am looking
at you.
S3 (02:05):
Exactly. We want to hear from you. Because in my belief,
faith isn't just about one specific religion. It's about faith
in general. And how do our beliefs shape our outlook
on life? And that's what we're talking about in this
week's show.
S2 (02:18):
So without further ado, how about we hear from Matt?
We'll be coming back to Shalia a little bit later.
But let's hear from Matt first.
S3 (02:32):
And how have you.
S4 (02:33):
Been a bit warm over here in Perth at the moment?
It's uh, somewhere in the late 30s, but I think
he admitted he's quite warm.
S3 (02:39):
Yes, I do love Perth. I was over there in
January for nationals and it was absolutely beautiful. But enough
about the weather. We are here this week to talk
about religion and the role that it plays in your outlook, uh,
of your vision impairment. So have you always grown up
religious or was it something you came to later in life?
S4 (02:58):
Well, it depends what you define as religious. See with me.
I have a Christian faith. So for me, I've been
taught that we have a relationship with our God. It's
not a a religious experience per se. Well, maybe they're
Catholics or things like that. So for me, it's more
of a relationship that's developed over time, that I have
(03:19):
a personal relationship with Jesus, and he has a relationship
with me, and it's more that side of it than
doing things in like Catholic saying, have to watch it, Mary,
like the, say, five Hail Marys and three whatever else
I have to say and all the rest of it,
because it doesn't work that way, because religion's more structured
in rules than like a personal relationship as such.
S3 (03:43):
Yeah, absolutely, I love that. I am of the Christian
faith too, and I only came to God like within
the last six months. So I'm finding all learning about
all the denominations very interesting. But yeah, I just I
agree with you that it is a relationship. So did
you always grow up having that relationship with God, or
(04:03):
is that something that you came to in adulthood?
S4 (04:06):
Yeah. Um, for myself, um, I was brought up in
that family, um, in a family that had a Christian faith.
And so when my, when I was born, um, my
dad was a part of the brethren church, which was
very stoic and very, almost like Anglican, very, very structured
in how they conducted things. And my mum came from
(04:28):
the Salvation Army, which also had structures and also had
their things. So when my parents got together and they, uh, well, my,
my father ran into the Salvation Army because that's what
my mum did. And so my sister, my younger sister
and myself all grew up in the Salvation Army. And
when I was about 6 or 7 so early 80s,
(04:50):
my parents and I, me, my parents, my sister and I, um,
went to, um, Local Church of Christ church, which will
do a bit more relaxed and didn't have to wear
uniforms and things like that. And I'm not saying the
Salvation Army don't look good in their uniforms, but back
then it was more like that with Burgundy jackets and
(05:12):
had different ranks because it is an army. So they
had things like lieutenants and captains and all the rest
of it. So it was very structured. And then we
went to the Church of Christ, which is a bit
more relaxed, and then we eventually went to other churches.
And so most of my life, like all of it's
all I've ever known.
S3 (05:32):
Were you born with a vision impairment or did you
acquire that later in life as well?
S4 (05:36):
Well, apparently I was born with my vision impairment, but
unlike some people I know, it didn't start appearing until
I was probably about 7 or 8. So I was like, um,
when I was about eight, my mum took me to
the opticians because I said, I can't see the ball
to catch it anymore. So how long before that I
(05:59):
had a vision disability or a vision problem, I should say? Um,
I don't know. I can't remember. But when my mum
went to the, uh, the optician, she said, I think
you need to go to the hospital and see an
ophthalmologist because this could be serious. Now that me and
my mum was told, um, that she'd got lazy eyes.
(06:21):
Sorry about it. It was. Just give him some glasses
and he'll be fine. So about 910, I started to
wear glasses and then they just got thicker and thicker
and thicker as I got older and older and older.
And then let's say then from glasses to contact lenses
and contact lenses didn't work. And then I had surgery
(06:43):
to try to correct it. And that didn't that worked
for a period of time and then it didn't work.
And now I've almost gone full circle, gone back to glasses.
But the thing is, with the glasses now, they'll wear.
I've only got power enough in one lens. That gives
me somewhere between, according to my ophthalmologists, somewhere between 4
(07:03):
and 7%. He can't define it. And that's in my
left eye, because that's my best corrected eye. But there
is no, um, vision now in my right eye. It's
when they give the surgery, they can look after it. Um,
they didn't treat me well with it. I don't know,
whatever reason. And so now I'm probably I'm a total
(07:23):
now in my right eye. Completely. So basically he was
looking through one eye at the moment.
S3 (07:29):
So when this started to occur and you started to
lose your vision, being of the Christian faith, what was
your parents attitude towards it?
S4 (07:36):
Well, the shocks, I think my dad was shocked more
than my mum. And then I think he went a
little HTC. I think he went um, over carry like
like almost like a helicopter parent. Like making sure that
I didn't fall over anything, making sure that there was
nothing to trip Give over and try to get everybody
to almost, like, coddle them and make sure I smother
(07:58):
me to make sure that nothing could happen. So, um,
my mum, she was great. She just seems like he's
got a they can do things. He can't just sit
on the sidelines like he wants to play dodge or
he wants to do something. You've got to let him.
Otherwise he's going to resent this and he's not going
to like it. And going up to the Lord and
(08:20):
going like, oh, just move out of the way or
do something. I eventually rebelled. I didn't want to wear
my glasses in my contact lenses. Maybe. Why my eyes again,
not as good as they could be if I listened
and wore them properly and do things like that. But
when you're a teenager and, um, most people don't want to, uh,
(08:41):
listen to Mum and Dad, and he was my dad,
he meant well, I can understand that now. But at
the time, he was just like, no, just let me
be and do my thing and leave me alone. And
in terms with like, faith, um, you know, again, being
a teenager, like, you have to be, like, want to
(09:04):
be the cool kid? Um, you don't want to be
the guy that people look at and go like, oh,
there's such and such with Coke bottle glasses and, um,
I believe in God and all the rest of it.
Where is God now? Some people I know, they should
be like it was mocking. Mocking. You believe in God
and there is no God and all that kind of stuff.
(09:26):
And what? God would actually give a person a vision disability.
But again, I wasn't defined as disability until after I
actually finished high school. So to me, it was just
I was always my I thought.
S3 (09:40):
So often I've been approached by like a fundamentalist religion types,
religious types, and they've said things like, oh, there's a
reason that you don't have your eyesight and a lot
of is attributed to some sort of sin committed on
my part. Have you ever had this experience?
S4 (09:56):
Unfortunately, yes. Even in the Christian community, because a lot
of people, um, there's a lot of variations. It's like 80%
of what we believe is the same. It's the other 20%
that could be a little bit skew whiff or a
little different to what we could believe is the majority
(10:17):
of the norm. So yes, I've had people who have
said to me that, well, what have you done to, uh,
make yourself better and be a better person, or remove
this disability or use a disability, but remove this ailment
from you. And I'm going like, I've done a lot
(10:38):
of bad things, but what I would deem is bad.
But I'm not going to go into that because that's
that's personal. But I've done things that Well that we're
all proud of. And when you've got people that you
are now used to respect, um, saying things like, yeah, well,
you must have done something that untoward. I'm like, well,
(11:01):
my Bible is the story of job, who had a
faultless life. Oh, not not maybe not a faultless life,
but he had a a life where everything was taken
from him and he still, like, was blessing God and
praising God for who he was. Like, even even his
wife said, well, curse God and die like, ah, you
got all these ailments, you've lost your family, you've lost
(11:21):
your wealth. Like based on dying. Well, what have I
done wrong? And then in the New Testament, there's a
story in the New Testament, there's a story of a
blind person, the blind man who was wanting to be
healed and then commented, I'm not sure that it was
the Pharisees which were the religious law of the time,
(11:44):
or his Because of Jesus's disciples, or one of them
or both of them were saying, well, he's in here.
And like, what was his mother? Or was it his
father or was it himself? I think that that it
was caused his ailment or disability. And Christ said no. Well,
(12:05):
then what glory would be given to God the Father,
that he will be healed like? But God doesn't heal everyone.
And that's that's the thing that a lot of people
think that, oh, you're sick. Okay, you need to be
healed and you will be healed if you believe or not.
And at the end of the day, if God doesn't
(12:25):
heal everyone, like if you're born totally blind and you
know nothing else, they used to say that you, um,
more or less fake than somebody who has some sight
or fully sighted. It's like people still die of cancer
that believe. they believe that God will heal them and
(12:47):
they still die. You have people that pray for you
like I've had people lay hands on my head with
the oil on my head and go like, you will
be healed and you will see it again. And then
I think of people like Graham Laycock. I'm not sure
if you know Graham Laycock at all. He was a
when he was younger. He was about 8 or 9
that same age as me when I started losing my sight.
(13:09):
He got hit in the eye, I think, with a
pie tin, like he was playing Frisbee with his friend,
and he got hit in the eye with a pie tin,
and he scratched his cornea and it got infected. So
this is like in the 1940s, I think 30s or
40s or something. So that happened years ago, just under.
And he lost his eyesight in that eye. And then
(13:31):
it was good. I got infected. And then he also
lost his eyesight. And that's why he became a totally
blind person. And he ended up travelling to London to
become a physiotherapist and become a physiotherapist in Western Australia
where I am. And basically he went around and he goes,
oh well, I can't see. But the next person I
(13:52):
will see is my God. So that's something that resonates
with me. Like I may not see now. Okay, I've
seen better than totally blind people, I get that, but
I just having that fact that one day I will
see my God and it won't matter that I can't
see now.
S1 (14:11):
This is studio one on Vision Australia radio.
S3 (14:17):
Well, our next interview is with Shalia. Now, I did
speak to Shalia for International Women's Day, and she had
quite a lot to say about faith, so I thought
it would be a great opportunity to listen to what
she had to say again.
S2 (14:31):
Because the interesting thing here, of course, was, um, you
did the whole interview and then it was like, oh,
and we sort of went a bit off topic. Um,
do we use that bit in the show? And I
sort of went, no, we don't, because it's not exactly
directly dealing with International Women's Day, but this is how
we came up with this show in the first place,
(14:52):
because I personally don't like to waste material and this
is good material.
S3 (14:57):
Yes, I agree, and she has a lot of poignant
things to say.
S2 (15:01):
So without further ado. Shalia.
S5 (15:07):
My family's very much God centered. We're very big on
on Christianity. We love God. We love Christ. And my
mom told me the story before that when I was
about six months old, they tried to do a surgery
on my corneas to give me a transplant, and they
told my mom it wouldn't work because of the glaucoma
in my eyes. I have a condition called Peter's anomaly,
(15:27):
which basically culminated in glaucoma and cataracts in my eyes.
And my eyes were a little misformed. So my father
side stepped out as soon as he realized I had
this disability. But my mom was very much involved. My
grandparents were very much involved. My mom's sisters, my aunts,
they were very much involved. So when they told her
(15:47):
that they couldn't fix my eyes and I would just
be blind, she said first she cried and then she
heard a voice that said, don't cry, she'll be fine.
I've got you and I've got her. And she told
me that she knew without a doubt. And this was
before she became like a huge believer that it was
God talking to her, not to worry. Be still and
have peace, she said. And I'll be darned if I
(16:08):
didn't just suddenly have peace. I was just filled with peace.
She was like, and and I knew you would be okay, because, like,
I was worried about you doing normal baby things like
rolling over or walking or. But I did all of it.
S3 (16:20):
How has your faith shaped the way that you see
your disability? Because it's very easy to ask, why me?
S5 (16:29):
Oh, yeah it is. God has always been a very
big and very important part of my life. And because
of that, I never really had time to say why me?
Not about the blindness. My why me was about other things,
life experiences, and even then, coming out of them and
being on the other side of them. Now I can say, okay,
this is why me? I know that even things that
(16:50):
seem devastating and heartbreaking and terrible and tragic, there's always
a positive, there's always a good that comes from it.
And as long as I can be patient and get
through the trial, then when I'm done with that, I'll
feel and see and know the blessing, and then I
can spread that with I can share that with others.
(17:11):
And I love evangelizing. I love sharing my testimony. I
love sharing the good news with people. I love, love,
love doing it.
S2 (17:24):
All right, I'm going to put my cards on the table.
I don't have any skin in this particular game because
I have no faith in anything beyond this earth. And
that means I don't believe in aliens, and I don't
believe in gods or god or anything else. And it's
(17:45):
not a case of I think a few shows ago
Matt was talking about atheism and I. The funny thing
about atheism is it's not an ism. You don't actively
not believe in something, it's just something that you don't
believe in. So I don't try to push my views
upon other people because I came to this decision of
(18:08):
my own. And I think that sometimes for anything, whether
you go to a religion or you leave one, you
have to make that decision on your own.
S3 (18:17):
So how is that not actively not believing then? Uh,
if because you've made an active choice to not believe.
S2 (18:23):
Well, if something doesn't exist, it doesn't really matter if
you believe it or not. And in fact, my opinion
as well is if we have this big, all powerful,
mighty being that is created everything. It's not really going
to really give two hoots whether I believe in it
or not. All it's going to care about, hopefully, is
that I am living by a certain set of principles
(18:45):
and doing what is right where it's at all possible,
so it doesn't really matter to not believe in something.
And again, it's a case of there's two things. If
I try to talk to somebody like yourself into believing
the same way as I do, there's two outcomes. Either
I'm wasting my breath, or the worst of the two
(19:07):
is that I actually convince you.
S3 (19:09):
Yeah, I've got to say, the first is definitely, um,
so the case.
S2 (19:13):
Here and herein lies the thing is, some people build
their entire lives around religion, and I don't want to
rip that away from somebody. So my belief or lack
of belief is a very personal thing, and I like
to keep it that way. But others have different views,
and this is what this show is about, is showing
(19:33):
the world that, yes, sometimes we're a lot like other people.
So let's continue on with our chat with Matt.
S3 (19:40):
Thank you. Well, I went on to ask Matt about
the gifts that God has given us and whether they
are enough to replace our lack of vision. So let's
hear from Matt about his perspective.
S4 (19:51):
Well, everyone's got a gift you don't have to have.
I've got to use a computer to testify to that.
People can use a computer regardless if they have eyesight
or not. People can throw a ball. Okay? It may
not be the perfect way of throwing a ball. They
may not be able to catch a ball, but then again,
they can. Everybody can do everything as long as they're
given enough time and patience and somebody who's willing to
(20:15):
do something with them. So for me, for instance, I'm
not working. Um, I haven't worked for let's see, I
made the blunders in 2009, so I haven't worked for
16 years now, unfortunately. But there are things that I
can do that right? They were amazed because just because
you can't see does not mean you can't do something.
(20:36):
You just need somebody who's willing to. If you're willing
to give something a go, you have to be vocal
about it, too. If you say to someone, can you
please help me learn to throw a ball? And eventually,
if you keep persisting with whatever it is, then you
will be able to throw a ball and it will
be perfect. But for somebody that didn't learn the guitar
(21:01):
and he goes like, oh, like I'm not perfect yet,
I'm like, I don't care. You're playing music. I'm like,
it's something you can do. My son started so he
can see the notes on the thing and all the
rest of it. But you have to be willing to
be humble and and do whatever. So the only person
that's stopping you from saying, oh, I can't do this
is you. So if you don't want to do it,
(21:22):
don't say, oh, I can't do it. Just say, I
haven't learned to do it or I'm, I'm what's going
to do it all? Well, what if you don't want
to do it yourself? Just just keep quiet about it
and then just focus on what you can do. So
if you can read Braille, great. Like, if you don't
want to learn braille and you think it's a dead
(21:44):
language or you just don't want to do it, then
just just don't worry about doing it. It's just like
it's something you think you think you can do or
want to try.
S3 (21:52):
So this show is airing close to Easter. Tell us
about what your plans for Easter are going to be.
S4 (21:58):
Oh let's see. Easter at the moment. Uh, my church
that I attend has a Good Friday service. 5:00 in
the morning. For those that are wanting to wake up
at 5:00 in the morning. Not me personally. I'll be
trying to sleep, but that's just me. I'm not. I'm
not a morning person. Unless I have to be. Which
I have to be with my two children. And then
(22:19):
I think there's a 10:00 or 10:00 service, which is
probably the one I'll be going to with my family.
And then the rest of the day on Good Friday,
just basically just reacting to the family doing things at home.
What things need to be done? Just it's just a
normal thought exercise. Of course. The public holiday, uh, Saturday
at the moment. I don't think I've got anything planned
(22:41):
for Saturday or Easter Saturday, so it'll probably be another
day of doing exactly what I just did on the Friday.
And then Sunday will be again, another service, probably 5
or 6:00 in the morning for that, for the salvation service,
as they call it. And then for those I've been
(23:02):
able to get up at five and six again. So
they'll probably do it at 10:00 in the morning, and
then the afternoon or lunch will probably be maybe with
the in-laws. I don't know what that plan is yet.
Or my in-laws, I should say not my wife's. My
wife's family maybe, I don't know. Yeah. Um, and then
Sunday night, for those that want to, they can do
another celebration service and basically do the other ones were.
(23:24):
So the This is almost the same back to back
to back then. Yeah. Your father would be a fool.
If you don't. Then he's just a regular Sunday thing,
doing whatever. And then wake up Monday morning and the
first day of holidays. Or at least up here anyway.
S3 (23:39):
So are your church community supportive of you? Despite despite your, um,
visual impairment and, you know.
S4 (23:47):
Yeah. Most of them are. Um, the church that I
was attending, um, before, the one that I, my family
and I are currently attending. It's not that they were dismissive.
They were. They just didn't know what to do and
came to the point where they were going like, well,
we'll just seems it was too hard for them. Like,
(24:08):
I would say things like, okay, when we do such
and such, I need to have this in large print.
And they meant well, but part of them will go well.
Do we really need to make like one copy just
for you and then like five copies for everybody else?
I'm like, seriously? Like our normal print for these group members.
And then one latched on to me almost like it
(24:30):
was too hard for them to do. Which is not
what you're supposed to be doing. And so that and
a few other things that came to a head. I
don't know, when you're in the church, you're being taught
to like, surf, like find somewhere that you can help
out and things like that. And as soon as, like
the jobs that they wanted me to do were not
(24:54):
that I couldn't do them, but they were more like
all I could try putting in the background. So then
he's actually helping? Yes. But it's not that he's like
being drawn attention to. So with that, my wife and
I go like, well, this is not a way of
showing God's love and Christ's love. So we are. Thank
(25:15):
you very much to the church that we're attending at
the time and said that, um, it's time for us
to move on because there's no way. I'm like, What? No.
They're for my family to serve or myself and, uh,
my friends suggested their church, and we've been there since.
S3 (25:30):
And what do you do to serve your church community? Now.
S4 (25:33):
At the moment, uh, we're on. My wife and I
are going to get involved in the children's ministry. So
helping the young kids. So for me, it would be
helping with the administration side of it, because that's what
I've done previously. I'd like to say I'm proficient at
it because, as I said, I've worked for 16 years.
That was a paid work for 16 years. So for me,
(25:55):
at the moment, it's just things like putting names into databases.
The kid has a birthday during the week or something,
and they're the most, and they can send out a
birthday card to that child. A happy birthday on behalf
of the church and things like that. And my wife
has a education assistant certificate, so she helps out with
(26:15):
the kids and helping run the programs and the lessons
for them.
S3 (26:18):
That sounds amazing. Yeah, I'm trying at the moment to
get to become a part of the worship team on
the music production side, and I'm finding that to be
a little bit challenging because I don't know if they
think that I wouldn't be capable of getting on and
off stage, I'm not sure. We've got a few little
misconceptions to sort of battle, but I think we'll get
(26:39):
there in the end.
S4 (26:40):
Oh, absolutely. And you just have to be, as I say,
you've just got to be humble enough and just say, hey,
I can't do this or I have difficulty doing this.
I don't have this, I can't. It's like, I have
difficulty with this. Can someone assist with whatever needs to
be done? But I'm sure you'll be able to do
pretty much anything. It's just. Yeah, working out with your
orientation is so you're not actually singing to the drummer
(27:03):
instead of practicing the church.
S3 (27:07):
That brings us to the end of this episode. A
big thank you to Matt and Kalia for weighing in
on this week's episode of Studio One. And of course,
a big thanks to you for listening.
S2 (27:18):
You can of course, catch this show on podcast, on
all the good podcast platforms and in fact on a
few of the dodgy ones. Next week, since we're in
the mood for some miracles, we ask what would you
do if a miracle happened and suddenly you could see again?
S3 (27:33):
But of course, between now and then, please do get
in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of
any of the issues covered on this week's episode of
Studio One, or if you think there's something we should
be talking about. You never know. Your story and insight
may help someone who's dealing with something similar.
S2 (27:48):
You can contact us via email Studio one at Vision Australia. Org.
That's studio number one at Vision Australia.
S3 (27:54):
Org or of course you can find us on all
the good social media platforms, whether that be Facebook or Instagram,
by looking for VA Radio Network. We really do want
to hear from you guys.
S2 (28:06):
Especially after this week's episode. Yeah, this program was made
possible with the support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find
out more at. Bye for now.
This is studio one on Vision Australia Radio.
S2 (00:16):
Hello, I'm Sam and I'm Lizzie, and this is Studio One,
your weekly look at life from a low vision and
blind point of view. Here on Vision Australia Radio.
S3 (00:23):
On this week's show, as we're heading into Easter, we
explore the role of faith in our lives, particularly how
it influences our perspective on living with a vision impairment.
How does faith shape our outlook? Especially when we're faced
with questions like why me?
S2 (00:39):
As we always say at this point, please do get
in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of
any of the issues covered on this week's episode of
Studio One, or if you think there's something we should
be talking about, you never know. Your story and insight
may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar.
S3 (00:54):
You can email us at Studio One at Vision Australia.
That's studio number one at Vision Australia. Or of course,
you can drop us a note on our Facebook page
by going to facebook.com. Hello, Sam.
S2 (01:11):
Hello there. So this is a topic I don't think
that our show has covered before. Um, it sort of
takes me a little bit out of my comfort zone,
but sometimes to do something interesting, you've got to be
outside your comfort zone.
S3 (01:24):
Well, of course, we've stepped right out of your comfort
zone and right into mine. I have to say, this
is a topic that I'm very passionate about. As someone
who is of the Christian faith myself. Now, I will
say that we have two interviews, one with Matt and
one with Shelia, and they both are of the Christian faith.
But this is by no means, you know, the only
faith out there. Of course we have, you know, Australians
(01:48):
who are Islamic and Buddhist. So we want to hear
from you. If you celebrated Ramadan, if you know you're
a Buddhist.
S2 (01:55):
I know at least one of you out there who
would probably quite be quite happy to, uh, pass on, um,
your opinions on these things? Yes, Zell. I am looking
at you.
S3 (02:05):
Exactly. We want to hear from you. Because in my belief,
faith isn't just about one specific religion. It's about faith
in general. And how do our beliefs shape our outlook
on life? And that's what we're talking about in this
week's show.
S2 (02:18):
So without further ado, how about we hear from Matt?
We'll be coming back to Shalia a little bit later.
But let's hear from Matt first.
S3 (02:32):
And how have you.
S4 (02:33):
Been a bit warm over here in Perth at the moment?
It's uh, somewhere in the late 30s, but I think
he admitted he's quite warm.
S3 (02:39):
Yes, I do love Perth. I was over there in
January for nationals and it was absolutely beautiful. But enough
about the weather. We are here this week to talk
about religion and the role that it plays in your outlook, uh,
of your vision impairment. So have you always grown up
religious or was it something you came to later in life?
S4 (02:58):
Well, it depends what you define as religious. See with me.
I have a Christian faith. So for me, I've been
taught that we have a relationship with our God. It's
not a a religious experience per se. Well, maybe they're
Catholics or things like that. So for me, it's more
of a relationship that's developed over time, that I have
(03:19):
a personal relationship with Jesus, and he has a relationship
with me, and it's more that side of it than
doing things in like Catholic saying, have to watch it, Mary,
like the, say, five Hail Marys and three whatever else
I have to say and all the rest of it,
because it doesn't work that way, because religion's more structured
in rules than like a personal relationship as such.
S3 (03:43):
Yeah, absolutely, I love that. I am of the Christian
faith too, and I only came to God like within
the last six months. So I'm finding all learning about
all the denominations very interesting. But yeah, I just I
agree with you that it is a relationship. So did
you always grow up having that relationship with God, or
(04:03):
is that something that you came to in adulthood?
S4 (04:06):
Yeah. Um, for myself, um, I was brought up in
that family, um, in a family that had a Christian faith.
And so when my, when I was born, um, my
dad was a part of the brethren church, which was
very stoic and very, almost like Anglican, very, very structured
in how they conducted things. And my mum came from
(04:28):
the Salvation Army, which also had structures and also had
their things. So when my parents got together and they, uh, well, my,
my father ran into the Salvation Army because that's what
my mum did. And so my sister, my younger sister
and myself all grew up in the Salvation Army. And
when I was about 6 or 7 so early 80s,
(04:50):
my parents and I, me, my parents, my sister and I, um,
went to, um, Local Church of Christ church, which will
do a bit more relaxed and didn't have to wear
uniforms and things like that. And I'm not saying the
Salvation Army don't look good in their uniforms, but back
then it was more like that with Burgundy jackets and
(05:12):
had different ranks because it is an army. So they
had things like lieutenants and captains and all the rest
of it. So it was very structured. And then we
went to the Church of Christ, which is a bit
more relaxed, and then we eventually went to other churches.
And so most of my life, like all of it's
all I've ever known.
S3 (05:32):
Were you born with a vision impairment or did you
acquire that later in life as well?
S4 (05:36):
Well, apparently I was born with my vision impairment, but
unlike some people I know, it didn't start appearing until
I was probably about 7 or 8. So I was like, um,
when I was about eight, my mum took me to
the opticians because I said, I can't see the ball
to catch it anymore. So how long before that I
(05:59):
had a vision disability or a vision problem, I should say? Um,
I don't know. I can't remember. But when my mum
went to the, uh, the optician, she said, I think
you need to go to the hospital and see an
ophthalmologist because this could be serious. Now that me and
my mum was told, um, that she'd got lazy eyes.
(06:21):
Sorry about it. It was. Just give him some glasses
and he'll be fine. So about 910, I started to
wear glasses and then they just got thicker and thicker
and thicker as I got older and older and older.
And then let's say then from glasses to contact lenses
and contact lenses didn't work. And then I had surgery
(06:43):
to try to correct it. And that didn't that worked
for a period of time and then it didn't work.
And now I've almost gone full circle, gone back to glasses.
But the thing is, with the glasses now, they'll wear.
I've only got power enough in one lens. That gives
me somewhere between, according to my ophthalmologists, somewhere between 4
(07:03):
and 7%. He can't define it. And that's in my
left eye, because that's my best corrected eye. But there
is no, um, vision now in my right eye. It's
when they give the surgery, they can look after it. Um,
they didn't treat me well with it. I don't know,
whatever reason. And so now I'm probably I'm a total
(07:23):
now in my right eye. Completely. So basically he was
looking through one eye at the moment.
S3 (07:29):
So when this started to occur and you started to
lose your vision, being of the Christian faith, what was
your parents attitude towards it?
S4 (07:36):
Well, the shocks, I think my dad was shocked more
than my mum. And then I think he went a
little HTC. I think he went um, over carry like
like almost like a helicopter parent. Like making sure that
I didn't fall over anything, making sure that there was
nothing to trip Give over and try to get everybody
to almost, like, coddle them and make sure I smother
(07:58):
me to make sure that nothing could happen. So, um,
my mum, she was great. She just seems like he's
got a they can do things. He can't just sit
on the sidelines like he wants to play dodge or
he wants to do something. You've got to let him.
Otherwise he's going to resent this and he's not going
to like it. And going up to the Lord and
(08:20):
going like, oh, just move out of the way or
do something. I eventually rebelled. I didn't want to wear
my glasses in my contact lenses. Maybe. Why my eyes again,
not as good as they could be if I listened
and wore them properly and do things like that. But
when you're a teenager and, um, most people don't want to, uh,
(08:41):
listen to Mum and Dad, and he was my dad,
he meant well, I can understand that now. But at
the time, he was just like, no, just let me
be and do my thing and leave me alone. And
in terms with like, faith, um, you know, again, being
a teenager, like, you have to be, like, want to
(09:04):
be the cool kid? Um, you don't want to be
the guy that people look at and go like, oh,
there's such and such with Coke bottle glasses and, um,
I believe in God and all the rest of it.
Where is God now? Some people I know, they should
be like it was mocking. Mocking. You believe in God
and there is no God and all that kind of stuff.
(09:26):
And what? God would actually give a person a vision disability.
But again, I wasn't defined as disability until after I
actually finished high school. So to me, it was just
I was always my I thought.
S3 (09:40):
So often I've been approached by like a fundamentalist religion types,
religious types, and they've said things like, oh, there's a
reason that you don't have your eyesight and a lot
of is attributed to some sort of sin committed on
my part. Have you ever had this experience?
S4 (09:56):
Unfortunately, yes. Even in the Christian community, because a lot
of people, um, there's a lot of variations. It's like 80%
of what we believe is the same. It's the other 20%
that could be a little bit skew whiff or a
little different to what we could believe is the majority
(10:17):
of the norm. So yes, I've had people who have
said to me that, well, what have you done to, uh,
make yourself better and be a better person, or remove
this disability or use a disability, but remove this ailment
from you. And I'm going like, I've done a lot
(10:38):
of bad things, but what I would deem is bad.
But I'm not going to go into that because that's
that's personal. But I've done things that Well that we're
all proud of. And when you've got people that you
are now used to respect, um, saying things like, yeah, well,
you must have done something that untoward. I'm like, well,
(11:01):
my Bible is the story of job, who had a
faultless life. Oh, not not maybe not a faultless life,
but he had a a life where everything was taken
from him and he still, like, was blessing God and
praising God for who he was. Like, even even his
wife said, well, curse God and die like, ah, you
got all these ailments, you've lost your family, you've lost
(11:21):
your wealth. Like based on dying. Well, what have I
done wrong? And then in the New Testament, there's a
story in the New Testament, there's a story of a
blind person, the blind man who was wanting to be
healed and then commented, I'm not sure that it was
the Pharisees which were the religious law of the time,
(11:44):
or his Because of Jesus's disciples, or one of them
or both of them were saying, well, he's in here.
And like, what was his mother? Or was it his
father or was it himself? I think that that it
was caused his ailment or disability. And Christ said no. Well,
(12:05):
then what glory would be given to God the Father,
that he will be healed like? But God doesn't heal everyone.
And that's that's the thing that a lot of people
think that, oh, you're sick. Okay, you need to be
healed and you will be healed if you believe or not.
And at the end of the day, if God doesn't
(12:25):
heal everyone, like if you're born totally blind and you
know nothing else, they used to say that you, um,
more or less fake than somebody who has some sight
or fully sighted. It's like people still die of cancer
that believe. they believe that God will heal them and
(12:47):
they still die. You have people that pray for you
like I've had people lay hands on my head with
the oil on my head and go like, you will
be healed and you will see it again. And then
I think of people like Graham Laycock. I'm not sure
if you know Graham Laycock at all. He was a
when he was younger. He was about 8 or 9
that same age as me when I started losing my sight.
(13:09):
He got hit in the eye, I think, with a
pie tin, like he was playing Frisbee with his friend,
and he got hit in the eye with a pie tin,
and he scratched his cornea and it got infected. So
this is like in the 1940s, I think 30s or
40s or something. So that happened years ago, just under.
And he lost his eyesight in that eye. And then
(13:31):
it was good. I got infected. And then he also
lost his eyesight. And that's why he became a totally
blind person. And he ended up travelling to London to
become a physiotherapist and become a physiotherapist in Western Australia
where I am. And basically he went around and he goes,
oh well, I can't see. But the next person I
(13:52):
will see is my God. So that's something that resonates
with me. Like I may not see now. Okay, I've
seen better than totally blind people, I get that, but
I just having that fact that one day I will
see my God and it won't matter that I can't
see now.
S1 (14:11):
This is studio one on Vision Australia radio.
S3 (14:17):
Well, our next interview is with Shalia. Now, I did
speak to Shalia for International Women's Day, and she had
quite a lot to say about faith, so I thought
it would be a great opportunity to listen to what
she had to say again.
S2 (14:31):
Because the interesting thing here, of course, was, um, you
did the whole interview and then it was like, oh,
and we sort of went a bit off topic. Um,
do we use that bit in the show? And I
sort of went, no, we don't, because it's not exactly
directly dealing with International Women's Day, but this is how
we came up with this show in the first place,
(14:52):
because I personally don't like to waste material and this
is good material.
S3 (14:57):
Yes, I agree, and she has a lot of poignant
things to say.
S2 (15:01):
So without further ado. Shalia.
S5 (15:07):
My family's very much God centered. We're very big on
on Christianity. We love God. We love Christ. And my
mom told me the story before that when I was
about six months old, they tried to do a surgery
on my corneas to give me a transplant, and they
told my mom it wouldn't work because of the glaucoma
in my eyes. I have a condition called Peter's anomaly,
(15:27):
which basically culminated in glaucoma and cataracts in my eyes.
And my eyes were a little misformed. So my father
side stepped out as soon as he realized I had
this disability. But my mom was very much involved. My
grandparents were very much involved. My mom's sisters, my aunts,
they were very much involved. So when they told her
(15:47):
that they couldn't fix my eyes and I would just
be blind, she said first she cried and then she
heard a voice that said, don't cry, she'll be fine.
I've got you and I've got her. And she told
me that she knew without a doubt. And this was
before she became like a huge believer that it was
God talking to her, not to worry. Be still and
have peace, she said. And I'll be darned if I
(16:08):
didn't just suddenly have peace. I was just filled with peace.
She was like, and and I knew you would be okay, because, like,
I was worried about you doing normal baby things like
rolling over or walking or. But I did all of it.
S3 (16:20):
How has your faith shaped the way that you see
your disability? Because it's very easy to ask, why me?
S5 (16:29):
Oh, yeah it is. God has always been a very
big and very important part of my life. And because
of that, I never really had time to say why me?
Not about the blindness. My why me was about other things,
life experiences, and even then, coming out of them and
being on the other side of them. Now I can say, okay,
this is why me? I know that even things that
(16:50):
seem devastating and heartbreaking and terrible and tragic, there's always
a positive, there's always a good that comes from it.
And as long as I can be patient and get
through the trial, then when I'm done with that, I'll
feel and see and know the blessing, and then I
can spread that with I can share that with others.
(17:11):
And I love evangelizing. I love sharing my testimony. I
love sharing the good news with people. I love, love,
love doing it.
S2 (17:24):
All right, I'm going to put my cards on the table.
I don't have any skin in this particular game because
I have no faith in anything beyond this earth. And
that means I don't believe in aliens, and I don't
believe in gods or god or anything else. And it's
(17:45):
not a case of I think a few shows ago
Matt was talking about atheism and I. The funny thing
about atheism is it's not an ism. You don't actively
not believe in something, it's just something that you don't
believe in. So I don't try to push my views
upon other people because I came to this decision of
(18:08):
my own. And I think that sometimes for anything, whether
you go to a religion or you leave one, you
have to make that decision on your own.
S3 (18:17):
So how is that not actively not believing then? Uh,
if because you've made an active choice to not believe.
S2 (18:23):
Well, if something doesn't exist, it doesn't really matter if
you believe it or not. And in fact, my opinion
as well is if we have this big, all powerful,
mighty being that is created everything. It's not really going
to really give two hoots whether I believe in it
or not. All it's going to care about, hopefully, is
that I am living by a certain set of principles
(18:45):
and doing what is right where it's at all possible,
so it doesn't really matter to not believe in something.
And again, it's a case of there's two things. If
I try to talk to somebody like yourself into believing
the same way as I do, there's two outcomes. Either
I'm wasting my breath, or the worst of the two
(19:07):
is that I actually convince you.
S3 (19:09):
Yeah, I've got to say, the first is definitely, um,
so the case.
S2 (19:13):
Here and herein lies the thing is, some people build
their entire lives around religion, and I don't want to
rip that away from somebody. So my belief or lack
of belief is a very personal thing, and I like
to keep it that way. But others have different views,
and this is what this show is about, is showing
(19:33):
the world that, yes, sometimes we're a lot like other people.
So let's continue on with our chat with Matt.
S3 (19:40):
Thank you. Well, I went on to ask Matt about
the gifts that God has given us and whether they
are enough to replace our lack of vision. So let's
hear from Matt about his perspective.
S4 (19:51):
Well, everyone's got a gift you don't have to have.
I've got to use a computer to testify to that.
People can use a computer regardless if they have eyesight
or not. People can throw a ball. Okay? It may
not be the perfect way of throwing a ball. They
may not be able to catch a ball, but then again,
they can. Everybody can do everything as long as they're
given enough time and patience and somebody who's willing to
(20:15):
do something with them. So for me, for instance, I'm
not working. Um, I haven't worked for let's see, I
made the blunders in 2009, so I haven't worked for
16 years now, unfortunately. But there are things that I
can do that right? They were amazed because just because
you can't see does not mean you can't do something.
(20:36):
You just need somebody who's willing to. If you're willing
to give something a go, you have to be vocal
about it, too. If you say to someone, can you
please help me learn to throw a ball? And eventually,
if you keep persisting with whatever it is, then you
will be able to throw a ball and it will
be perfect. But for somebody that didn't learn the guitar
(21:01):
and he goes like, oh, like I'm not perfect yet,
I'm like, I don't care. You're playing music. I'm like,
it's something you can do. My son started so he
can see the notes on the thing and all the
rest of it. But you have to be willing to
be humble and and do whatever. So the only person
that's stopping you from saying, oh, I can't do this
is you. So if you don't want to do it,
(21:22):
don't say, oh, I can't do it. Just say, I
haven't learned to do it or I'm, I'm what's going
to do it all? Well, what if you don't want
to do it yourself? Just just keep quiet about it
and then just focus on what you can do. So
if you can read Braille, great. Like, if you don't
want to learn braille and you think it's a dead
(21:44):
language or you just don't want to do it, then
just just don't worry about doing it. It's just like
it's something you think you think you can do or
want to try.
S3 (21:52):
So this show is airing close to Easter. Tell us
about what your plans for Easter are going to be.
S4 (21:58):
Oh let's see. Easter at the moment. Uh, my church
that I attend has a Good Friday service. 5:00 in
the morning. For those that are wanting to wake up
at 5:00 in the morning. Not me personally. I'll be
trying to sleep, but that's just me. I'm not. I'm
not a morning person. Unless I have to be. Which
I have to be with my two children. And then
(22:19):
I think there's a 10:00 or 10:00 service, which is
probably the one I'll be going to with my family.
And then the rest of the day on Good Friday,
just basically just reacting to the family doing things at home.
What things need to be done? Just it's just a
normal thought exercise. Of course. The public holiday, uh, Saturday
at the moment. I don't think I've got anything planned
(22:41):
for Saturday or Easter Saturday, so it'll probably be another
day of doing exactly what I just did on the Friday.
And then Sunday will be again, another service, probably 5
or 6:00 in the morning for that, for the salvation service,
as they call it. And then for those I've been
(23:02):
able to get up at five and six again. So
they'll probably do it at 10:00 in the morning, and
then the afternoon or lunch will probably be maybe with
the in-laws. I don't know what that plan is yet.
Or my in-laws, I should say not my wife's. My
wife's family maybe, I don't know. Yeah. Um, and then
Sunday night, for those that want to, they can do
another celebration service and basically do the other ones were.
(23:24):
So the This is almost the same back to back
to back then. Yeah. Your father would be a fool.
If you don't. Then he's just a regular Sunday thing,
doing whatever. And then wake up Monday morning and the
first day of holidays. Or at least up here anyway.
S3 (23:39):
So are your church community supportive of you? Despite despite your, um,
visual impairment and, you know.
S4 (23:47):
Yeah. Most of them are. Um, the church that I
was attending, um, before, the one that I, my family
and I are currently attending. It's not that they were dismissive.
They were. They just didn't know what to do and
came to the point where they were going like, well,
we'll just seems it was too hard for them. Like,
(24:08):
I would say things like, okay, when we do such
and such, I need to have this in large print.
And they meant well, but part of them will go well.
Do we really need to make like one copy just
for you and then like five copies for everybody else?
I'm like, seriously? Like our normal print for these group members.
And then one latched on to me almost like it
(24:30):
was too hard for them to do. Which is not
what you're supposed to be doing. And so that and
a few other things that came to a head. I
don't know, when you're in the church, you're being taught
to like, surf, like find somewhere that you can help
out and things like that. And as soon as, like
the jobs that they wanted me to do were not
(24:54):
that I couldn't do them, but they were more like
all I could try putting in the background. So then
he's actually helping? Yes. But it's not that he's like
being drawn attention to. So with that, my wife and
I go like, well, this is not a way of
showing God's love and Christ's love. So we are. Thank
(25:15):
you very much to the church that we're attending at
the time and said that, um, it's time for us
to move on because there's no way. I'm like, What? No.
They're for my family to serve or myself and, uh,
my friends suggested their church, and we've been there since.
S3 (25:30):
And what do you do to serve your church community? Now.
S4 (25:33):
At the moment, uh, we're on. My wife and I
are going to get involved in the children's ministry. So
helping the young kids. So for me, it would be
helping with the administration side of it, because that's what
I've done previously. I'd like to say I'm proficient at
it because, as I said, I've worked for 16 years.
That was a paid work for 16 years. So for me,
(25:55):
at the moment, it's just things like putting names into databases.
The kid has a birthday during the week or something,
and they're the most, and they can send out a
birthday card to that child. A happy birthday on behalf
of the church and things like that. And my wife
has a education assistant certificate, so she helps out with
(26:15):
the kids and helping run the programs and the lessons
for them.
S3 (26:18):
That sounds amazing. Yeah, I'm trying at the moment to
get to become a part of the worship team on
the music production side, and I'm finding that to be
a little bit challenging because I don't know if they
think that I wouldn't be capable of getting on and
off stage, I'm not sure. We've got a few little
misconceptions to sort of battle, but I think we'll get
(26:39):
there in the end.
S4 (26:40):
Oh, absolutely. And you just have to be, as I say,
you've just got to be humble enough and just say, hey,
I can't do this or I have difficulty doing this.
I don't have this, I can't. It's like, I have
difficulty with this. Can someone assist with whatever needs to
be done? But I'm sure you'll be able to do
pretty much anything. It's just. Yeah, working out with your
orientation is so you're not actually singing to the drummer
(27:03):
instead of practicing the church.
S3 (27:07):
That brings us to the end of this episode. A
big thank you to Matt and Kalia for weighing in
on this week's episode of Studio One. And of course,
a big thanks to you for listening.
S2 (27:18):
You can of course, catch this show on podcast, on
all the good podcast platforms and in fact on a
few of the dodgy ones. Next week, since we're in
the mood for some miracles, we ask what would you
do if a miracle happened and suddenly you could see again?
S3 (27:33):
But of course, between now and then, please do get
in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of
any of the issues covered on this week's episode of
Studio One, or if you think there's something we should
be talking about. You never know. Your story and insight
may help someone who's dealing with something similar.
S2 (27:48):
You can contact us via email Studio one at Vision Australia. Org.
That's studio number one at Vision Australia.
S3 (27:54):
Org or of course you can find us on all
the good social media platforms, whether that be Facebook or Instagram,
by looking for VA Radio Network. We really do want
to hear from you guys.
S2 (28:06):
Especially after this week's episode. Yeah, this program was made
possible with the support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find
out more at. Bye for now.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!