The Gift of Love

The Gift of Love

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, thirty-four, 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. Once a fiercely independent woman,
Susan now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate to
become a powerless, helpless burden on everyone around her.

"How could this happened to me?" she would plead,
her heart knotted with anger. But no matter how much
she cried or ranted or prayed, she knew the painful
truth her sight was never going to return.
A cloud of depression hung over Susan's once optimistic spirit.
Just getting through each day was an exercise in frustration
and exhaustion.

And all she had to cling to was her husband Mark.
Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan
with all of 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. Mark's military background had trained him
well to deal with sensitive situations,
and yet he knew this was the most difficult battle he
would ever face.

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 that this arrangement wasn't
working-it was hectic,
and costly. Susan is going to have to start
taking the bus again,
he admitted to himself. But just the thought of
mentioning it to her made him cringe.
She was still so fragile,
so angry. How would she react?

Just as Mark 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'm 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 to her new environment.
He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her,
and save her seat. He made her laugh,
even on those not-so-good days when she would trip exiting the bus,
or drop her briefcase. Each morning they made the journey
together, and Mark would take a cab back to his office.
Although this routine was even more costly and exhausting
than the previous one, Mark knew it was only a matter of
time before Susan would be able to ride the bus on her own.
He believed in her, in the Susan he used to know before
she'd lost her sight, who wasn't afraid of any challenge
and who would never, ever quit.

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, 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!

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual.
As she was paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said,
"Boy, I sure 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 so good to be taken
care of and protected like you are."

"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 when you get off the bus.
He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watched
you 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 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 had been darkness.

God watches over us in just the same way.
We may not know He is present. We may not be able
to see His face, but He is there nonetheless!
Be blessed in this thought: "God Loves You -
even when you're not looking!

Author...unknown

A special thanks to Jean for sending me
this beautiful story.

Home