Though he was born legally blind, Scott MacIntyre doesn’t consider it a disadvantage. Encouraged by his parents to focus on his abilities, not his disability, MacIntyre was a child prodigy with a God-given talent for music. At age 19, he graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University—and at age 22, he became American Idol’s first blind contestant.
The biggest challenge of MacIntyre’s life began the day of his college graduation when he learned that he was suffering from stage four renal failure and would need a kidney transplant. That problem nearly killed him, but he was saved by the wife of his former piano teacher, who donated one of her kidneys to him.
When asked by Christopher Closeup host Tony Rossi how the adversities he’s faced have affected his faith, MacIntyre said, “One of the questions I get is, ‘If I could have my sight back, would I choose to have it back?’ And I have to say ‘no’ because I look back over my life, and I see all the ways God has used that to grow my relationship with Him and be a witness to the world. I couldn’t trade that.”
We live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Bless me with the wisdom to follow You, Jesus.