Quote from Forum Archives on November 1, 2004, 12:46 pm

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

   "Unseen 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 have 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 that 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 back-ground 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 a 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 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 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 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 watches 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
  physically see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She was blessed,
  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 are not looking."

 

 

"Three Bullets"   

 

 

There once was a man who had nothing for his family to eat. He had an
old shotgun and three bullets. So, he decided that he would go out and kill
something for dinner.

 

As he went down the road, he saw a rabbit and he shot at the rabbit and
missed it. Then he saw a squirrel and fired a shot at the squirrel and
missed it. As he went further, he saw a wild turkey in the tree and he had
only one bullet, but a voice came to him and said "pray first, aim high and
stay focused." However, at the same time, he saw a deer which was a better
kill. He brought the gun down and aimed at the deer. But, then he saw a
rattlesnake between his legs about to bite him, so he naturally brought the
gun down further to shoot the rattle snake. Still, the voice said again to
him, "I said 'pray, aim high and stay focused." So, the man decided to
listen to the voice.  He prayed, then aimed the gun high up in the tree and
shot the wild turkey.

 

The bullet bounced off the turkey and killed the deer.  The handle fell
off the gun and hit the snake in the head and killed it.  And, when the gun
had gone off, it knocked him into a pond.  When he stood to look around, he
had fish in all his pockets, a dead deer and a turkey to eat.

 

The snake (Satan) was dead simply because the man listened to God.

 

Moral of the story: Pray first before you do anything, aim and shoot
high in your goals, and stay focused on God.

 

 

Have a Blessed Day

Dave and Barbara

 

 

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