Philippa Lomas was born without any eyes and was, therefore, completely blind. It was a great shock to her parents whose other children are fully sighted. Philippa’s parents, who are Christians, wondered what good God could bring out of the situation. They were determined that Philippa would do everything as normally as possible and fought for her to go to the mainstream village school. She continued in mainstream education through to A levels. Her parents learned braille and family members made tactile picture books to encourage Phillipa to learn to read.

All the family were involved in a local church and Philippa attended Sunday School with her brothers and sisters. The church included her in many ways. Her Sunday School teachers made tactile representations of Bible stories and the minister’s wife learned braille so she could transcribe hymns. Philippa says, “As I grew, I always knew that God was with me, I knew Jesus had died for me to forgive my sins. I was always praying in my head and having a conversation with God. Especially when I was in school, and lessons and relationships became harder. I was so glad that as I lived in an ever-changing world, God always remained the same and his attitude towards me will never change.”

When she was 12 Philippa was baptised in Potton Baptist Church which she still attends. She helps with the administration and with leading the singing. She says, “Throughout my years as a Christian, there have been some very dark days. It isn’t as simple as giving your life to Jesus and everything is smooth from then on. I have had many occasions when I have felt far away from God. When I was in my late teens, I felt that I was too wicked to be forgiven. But gradually I realised that no matter what I’d done, and how far from God I felt, Jesus died once for all sinners, which must therefore include me.”

In 2012 Philippa met her husband Will on a Christian holiday for visually impaired people. Will has been totally blind from birth. Will and Philippa have 3 children all of whom are fully sighted. Philippa loves to sing, and Will accompanies her on the piano. Philippa’s favourite hymn writer is Fanny Crosby, who went blind at the age of 6 weeks. Philippa says, “One of her hymns that sums up my story is called Saved by Grace. It says, ‘and I shall see him face to face, and tell the story saved by grace’. I will never be able to see in this world, so I will not see my children’s faces, or the faces of my family, but I will see Jesus. When I die, I will have perfect vision. The first thing I will ever see is the face of the Saviour who gave his life for me, that I might live forever with him.”