“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

In 1818, a boy named Louis was sitting in his father’s workshop in France.

His father was a harness maker and Louis loved to sit and watch his father work.  

One day, he said, “Father, I want to be a harness maker like you one day.” 

To which the father replied, “Why not start now?”  

He took a piece of leather, drew a design on it, and instructed his son to use the hole puncher and hammer to follow the pattern.

The man set him off to work with a warning to be careful. 

Young Louis was excited to begin his new job, but when he hit the hole puncher, it flew out of his hand and pierced his eye.

He immediately lost his sight in it as a result.

Later, sight in his other eye failed, and Louis became totally blind. 

Several years later, Louis was sitting in a garden when a friend handed him a pine cone.

Louis ran his fingers over the cone, and suddenly an idea came to him. 

This idea eventually led to the creation of an alphabet of raised dots on paper so that others who were blind could feel and interpret what was written.

As a result of his accident, Louis Braille opened up a new world for the blind! 

To some, this type of tragedy would have been the thing that would have sent them into depression and isolation.

But as believers, we know that all things happen for a reason:

God’s divine purpose and plan (Jeremiah 29:11). 

God has mapped out every day and detail of our existence.

When tragedy strikes, don’t be alarmed.  

Know that God is in control!

And that all things work together for His glory and your good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 47:8). 

Thank God for His promises of hope and a future, even when tragedy strikes.