Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Militarys love.... in sickness

Is the title of today's Inspirational message

The passengers on the bus watched
sympathetically as the attractive young woman
with the white cane made her way carefully up the
steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to
feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle
and found the seat he’d told her was empty. Then
she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and
rested her cane against her leg.
It had been a year since Susan, 34, became blind.
Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been
rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown
into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and
self-pity. And all she had to cling to was her
husband, Mark.
Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan
with all his heart. When she first lost her sight, he
watched her sink into despair and was determined
to help his wife gain the strength and confidence
she needed to become independent again.
Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but
how would she get there? She used to take the
bus, but was now too frightened to get around the
city by herself. Mark volunteered to drive her to
work each day, even though they worked at
opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted
Susan, and fulfilled Mark’s need to protect his
sightless wife who was so insecure about
performing the slightest task. Soon, however, Mark
realized the arrangement wasn’t working. Susan is
going to have to start taking the bus again, he
admitted to himself. But she was still so fragile, so
angry-how would she react?
Just as he predicted, Susan was horrified at the
idea of taking the bus again. “I’m blind!,” she
responded bitterly. “How am I supposed to know
where I am going? I feel like you’re abandoning
me.”
Mark’s heart broke to hear these words, but he
knew what had to be done. He promised Susan
that each morning and evening he would ride the
bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got
the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened.
For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all,
accompanied Susan to and from work each day.
He taught her how to rely on her other senses,
specifically her hearing, to determine where she
was and how to adapt her new environment. He
helped her befriend the bus drivers who could
watch out for her, and save her a seat.
Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try
the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and
before she left, she threw her arms around Mark,
her temporary bus-riding companion, her husband,
and her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears of
gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, and his love.
She said good-bye, and for the first time, they
went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday… Each day on her own went
perfectly, and Susan had never felt better. She was
doing it! She was going to work all by herself.
On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as
usual. As she was paying the fare to exit the bus,
the driver said, “Boy, I sure do envy you.” Susan
wasn’t sure if the driver was speaking to her or
not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind
woman who had struggled just to find the courage
to live for the past year?
Curious, she asked the driver, “Why do you say
that you envy me?” The driver responded, “It must
feel good to be taken care of and protected like
you are.”
Susan had no idea what the driver was talking
about, and again asked, “What do you mean?”
The driver answered, “You know, every morning for
the past week, a fine-looking gentleman in a
military uniform has been standing across the
corner watching you as you get off the bus. He
makes sure you cross the street safely and he
watches until you enter your office building. Then
he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and
walks away. You are one lucky lady.”
Tears of happiness poured down Susan’s cheeks.
For although she couldn’t physically see him, she
had always felt Mark’s presence. She was lucky,
so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful
than sight, a gift she didn’t need to see to believe-
the gift of love that can bring light where there is
darkness.



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