{source}<iframe style=”float: left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #C0C0C0; padding: 2px; margin: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;” width=”400″ height=”225″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/mpLL0WdZEaE?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}Pictures, videos and words are funneled into our lives through the World Wide Web everyday. My wife and I will occasionally do a Youtube search for “funny cat” just to see some of the latest hilarities cat-owners have captured on film. At the Denison Forum, we research and cultivate the daily news via the Internet and get our analysis to you via the same channel. One great outcome of this digital age is the sharing of amazing stories that otherwise might not get heard.
Have you heard of Marlana VanHoose? I hadn’t before Tuesday. During the live-stream of Senator Rand Paul’s presidential campaign announcement, I watched with interest as a noticeably small, young woman wearing sunglasses took the stage. I was enamored with the purity and strength of her voice as she sang our national anthem.
Marlana has become a local celebrity, having recently sung for vast audiences in her home state, Kentucky. ESPN’s E:60 featured her in 2014. It was through the Internet that she came into my world. I visited her website and learned that she was born blind and diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age. The Cytomeglo virus which caused her palsy and blindness led the doctors to tell her parents she would not live for more than a year. Today she is eighteen years old and is gaining national attention for her gifts that trump her handicaps.
Her website showcases her faith in Jesus Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) is written prominently on her website showing that she knows where her strength comes from. “She knows that when she gets to Heaven, Jesus will be the first face she’ll see.” Marlana’s story and gifts are pointing people towards the Gospel. In an interview with CBS, Marlana said “I like to give people hope and strength to live from singing and from encouraging people… I genuinely sing to people who are lost. That probably helps a lot of people feel like they’re found.”
C. S. Lewis said, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” Marlana Vanhoose proves him right.
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