Creating Light in the Dark

A nationally known speaker, writer and musician calls Springfield home. She inspires women as an example of overcoming struggles—she’s been blind since age 15—and she’ll be speaking in 417-land this month.

(page 1 of 2)

Photo Edward Biamonte

Before Jennifer Rothschild became an author and speaker to go along with her music career, she was just a singer. Then, 20 years ago, she was asked to speak to a ladies’ group that had heard her sing. “Evidently, they couldn’t get the speaker they really wanted, so they called me,” says Jennifer. Fortunately, it was her husband, Philip, who answered the phone. “I just said, ‘Yeah, she can do it… and her topic will be… and her three points will be…,’” recalls Philip.

When Jennifer heard the news, she pleaded: “I don’t speak. I introduce songs.”

Philip simply replied, “Well, think of a really long introduction.”

Since that day that Philip volunteered her to speak, Jennifer’s career has grown into writing five books and three Bible studies, managing her website (womensministry.net, which has a newsletter readership of 23,000), speaking at conferences about 35 weekends out of the year, and even making appearances on Good Morning America and Dr. Phil.

{ Storyteller} 

Jennifer recounts the serendipitous start to her career story with her usual welcoming warmth that draws you in. She has a way with stories. After the really good parts of them, she lets loose a laugh that reaches higher as it goes.

Jennifer is all about stories. “It’s the universal way to communicate,” she says. In describing her experience writing a book she says, “I feel more like I discover it and give voice to it, than actually writing it.” Jennifer continues, “A couple of books I’ve written don’t look anything like the original outline, and I love that part of it because it takes me on a journey, and I think it’s interesting to discover it.”

The same could certainly be said of her life. Jennifer became legally blind at the age of 15. Now, she can only slightly detect light. That was not in her original outline, but it has taken her on a journey that she is still enthusiastically discovering.

In Miami, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal disease for which there is no cure. “The only thing I remember was when the doctor said the word ‘blindness,’” recalls Jennifer. “I have vivid memories of that moment because it was as if the room cleared of people and sound because the word was so prominent and so unexpected.” Jennifer has a unique ease with allowing the difficult memories to exist side by side with her current perspective. Jennifer puts it succinctly: “Blindness does not define me. I think it’s refined me. If that’s what it takes to open the door, so that I can show them something bigger, so be it. I would define myself as a woman who is loyal to her faith, who is curious, and who wants to take people to a deeper place. Who happens to be blind.”

Kathryn McCall, Jennifer’s assistant, echoes that sentiment. “I describe her as a blind lady who doesn’t know she’s blind,” McCall says. “She is the mom, who, when the kids yell, ‘Mom, where are my shoes?’, she knows, even though she can’t see them.”

Given her circumstances, Jennifer is able to speak of both ideals and struggles with a distinct believability. “It’s within that darkness that I’ve really found a deeper light, and it’s the light of hope,” explains Jennifer. “My greatest struggle has little to do with physical darkness. It’s more the struggle of choosing minute by minute, day by day, week by week, what light I’m going to see.”
 

Subscribe to 417 Magazine

 Email this page  Print this page