Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, King James Version (KJV)

Imagine you are of college age. Imagine you one day catch the flu. Imagine that before you recover, you lose your ability to see.

Kathryn Webster doesn’t have to imagine. This is exactly what happened to her. She lost her eyesight from complications of the flu, and the now Wake Forest student had a choice to make: give up her dream of becoming an actuarial scientist, or forge ahead against all odds.

Thanks to a novel suite of technologies developed by Robert Erhardt, assistant professor of mathematics, and Michael Shuman, associate director of the Learning Assistance Center, Webster has been able to take the visually-oriented mathematics classes required for actuarial science by using the technologies to do her homework, study for tests and take exams. Now, with focus and determination, Webster is well on her way to obtaining her dual degree in mathematics and business.

As Webster recently told Will Ferguson, Assistant Director of News and Communications at Wake Forest University:

“I knew it [mathematics] was going to be a struggle, but I wasn’t worried enough to step back from it,” said Webster, now a sophomore. “There are always obstacles in life. You just have to come up with ways to get around them.”

The obvious lesson from Webster’s story is this: be persistent in the face of adversity. But there is another lesson – just as important – to be gleaned: we need help to persist in the face of adversity. Left to herself, Webster’s dream of becoming an actuarial scientist would have ended with her eyesight. However, it lives on today because of the caring determination of two men – Robert Erhardt and Michael Shuman – spending hours and energy to help this young woman. Neither Erhardt nor Shuman had any obligation to aid Webster. They simply wanted to because it was the right thing to to.

All too often, we foolishly try to unknot the tangles of life on our own, only to fail. We weren’t meant to go it alone; we were designed by God to be helped by God and by our fellow man. Be a help to others when you can. Accept the help of others when you need it. Selfishness prevents us from being a help, and pride keeps us from accepting help. Both attitudes are evil, and the longer we give them place in our hearts, the longer we will suffer the evil they bring.