God Gave Her Vision

Blindness and infidelity shook a young mother, but she found a new way of seeing the world

“For 31 years, I could see,” says Janet Perez Eckles, author of five inspirational books. “So, when my friends describe a sunset— the pinks, the oranges—I can picture it. I know exactly what orange and pink are.”

But her confident smile fades and her eyes narrow when she asks herself, “If my vision returned, what would I want to see first? I would like to see the faces of my grandchildren. People tell me they’re beautiful children, but nobody can really describe them to me. I would also want to see the faces of my sons because I saw them when they were young, but in my mind, I can’t visualize them grown. I would want to see Dale, my hubby. Everybody says he’s so handsome. Yes, to see those faces, that would be a beautiful thing if God allowed me to see them.”

Janet endured several experiences that were not pretty and today are indelibly etched in her mind’s eye. They are the horrific murder of her youngest son, the painful acquittal of the man responsible for his death, and her abandonment by her first husband after 42 years of marriage.

But in every instance, Janet says, God’s grace also allowed her to see signs of hope. “When I lost my sight, God’s Word became a lamp unto my feet,” she vividly remembers. “When my youngest son was murdered, God gave me the strength to regain peace and the ability to forgive. God also brought restoration, by giving me a new husband.”

Although the inherited and progressive eye disease retinitis pigmentosa caused her to eventually go completely blind, she says that at the same time, God gifted her with the spiritual vision to “see the other side of adversity, to see the joy, the beauty of His grace, and the power of His restoration.”

Launching a ministry

Janet’s compelling story is the foundation of her writing ministry. Her previous titles are Contagious Courage; Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow; Hola, Happiness; and Simply Salsa, an Amazon.com bestseller. As an international speaker, radio host, and founder of JC Empowerment Ministries, she motivates audiences to rise above their circumstances and see God’s vision and purpose for their lives.

Having worked many years as a professional language interpreter, Janet has perfected the art of listening empathetically to people to convey the heartfelt meaning behind their spoken words.

“So many people are feeling overwhelmed and hopeless and defeated, and we need to reach them more than ever before,” Janet says. “I think what happens is that we learn to listen to our feelings: So, ‘I feel so depressed. I just, you know, I really am angry.’ Or ‘I feel so anxious because … I don’t know why.’ What are they doing? They’re paying attention to their feelings when really, they should be paying attention to the power of God’s Word.”

Born in Bolivia, Janet moved to the  United States with her family when she was 12. A love of Mark Twain’s stories about the South ignited her mom’s imagination. She was determined to experience it for herself and pursued a life in St. Louis, Mo. Janet grew up there, married, and had three boys.

But disease, tragedy, and betrayal would shatter Janet’s life. In her darkest moment, she found Jesus Christ. Against all odds, she turned her devastating disappointments into opportunities for ministry. Today, her mission is to motivate others to do the same through faith in Christ.

“You see, some people focus their eyes and ears on what they believe the world has done to them. They say to themselves, ‘Poor me. Look at what happened to me. Look at what this person did to me.’ Or ‘This or that offended me in some way.’ Rather we should ask, ‘What is God doing today? What can I do to further His kingdom?’”

God’s amazing grace

In her latest book, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy, Janet takes readers along on her tumultuous journey.

The author’s introduction is an earnest and open letter to anyone suffering from a broken heart, body, mind, or spirit. “With your permission, then, may I come alongside you, dear friend?” she asks.

The early chapters show, in vivid detail, an explosive 1960s Bolivia, where 8-year-old Janet and her parents and brother hear the roar of fighter planes as they take off from a military base near her home in La Paz. The family runs for cover as the government tries to defend itself against another coup attempt by revolutionary forces.

Infused by the dynamics of Janet’s influential family, those short but breathtaking chapters, accented with family photos taken in Bolivia and later in the United States, are enough to hook anyone into eagerly turning pages. Each chapter begins with an inspiring verse from Scripture. Janet skillfully paces the episodes that follow, giving readers a transparent look into her emotional, spiritual, external, and internal struggles.

I quickly embraced Janet’s first-person narrative almost as if it were my own. Immersed in her story, I lived those often frantic moments in my imagination. I saw young Janet, her brother, and mother scramble to find shelter as war planes thundered overhead. I tasted the dust in my mouth, watched her grandmother’s colorful apron flow in the wind, and gazed into her wrinkled face as she pulled Janet into a fragile wooden house out of harm’s way.

Janet’s immediate family members and maternal grandparents are all vivid and memorable characters. Seeing their lives through her eyes was a captivating and culturally revealing experience for me.

For instance, her grandfather rises to political prominence in Bolivian society as a respected diplomat, but he’s forced into exile in Peru after the fall of the Bolivian government. Equally intriguing is his marriage to the woman who will become Janet’s Abuelita (“dear grandma”), one of 13 children born to a wealthy Peruvian family. The grandfather’s return to Bolivia to become a successful book author is short lived because of a subsequent addiction to alcohol. His drinking ruins future prospects and becomes one of the many reasons the family sets its sights for the United States.

The family stories kept me engaged, but Janet herself remains front and center and moves the narrative along with great pacing as she shares her many challenges.

There are also heartwarming moments. One comes when Janet attends a ceremony where she is to receive an Interpreter of the Year award from her employer, the world’s largest telephone-driven language interpretation company. When she takes the stage, the audience learns that she is blind. How will they react to this revelation? she wonders. Trust me when I say that reading about their response to this shocking news was worth the modest price of this book.

Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms The Deepest Pain to Shining Joy (2023; 272 pages; paperback or Kindle) is published by JC Empowerment Ministries and is available on Amazon.com.