Wide Open, Week 5: Craig MacFarlane
Discussion Questions
Craig described refusing to let his blindness define him — choosing instead to be defined by the light within rather than the darkness around him. What is something in your own life that you've allowed to define you in ways that may not actually be true?
His parents said they didn't know how to raise a blind child, so they just raised a child. What does that approach — refusing to let a limitation set the ceiling — look like in your own parenting, relationships, or work?
Craig's first gold medal, won at age eight against sighted competitors, wasn't his most impressive — but it was his most significant. He slept with it under his pillow because it represented hope. What has been your equivalent of that first gold medal — a small win that meant everything at the time?
He described the real battle as "the story behind the story" — not the championships, but the daily fight for inclusion, dignity, and the right to compete on equal ground. Where in your own life is the real battle happening beneath the surface that others might not see?
Craig said that adversity is the first path to truly understanding yourself. Do you agree? When has a difficulty revealed something about yourself that easier circumstances never would have?
He closed by saying he would trade all his gold medals just to see his parents' faces, his wife, his children growing up. How does that kind of honesty about what actually matters challenge the way you're spending your time and energy right now?
The message to graduates was clear — don't let anyone else hold the pen to your story. But Craig also spoke about faith as central to his journey. How do you hold together personal responsibility and trust in God's direction? Where does one end and the other begin?
Craig asked the congregation to close their eyes and remember the dreams of their seven or eight year old self — then asked whether those dreams are still big enough to keep inspiring them. What came up for you in that moment — and what did it tell you?
Helen Keller's quote closed the message: "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." Where in your life right now do you have sight but may be lacking vision — and what would it take to change that?
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