BLIND 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's settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane
against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan 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. '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, her sight was never going to return. A cloud of depression hung
over Susan's once optimistic spirit. 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 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 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 but he knew what had to be done. He promised Susan
that each day he would ride the bus with her 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 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. 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. 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.

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? "Why do you envy me?"

The driver responded, "It must feel so good to be taken care of and
protected like you are." Susan had no idea what the driver was talking
about, "What do you mean?" The driver said, "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 see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She was blessed, so 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.

*"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful
because you love her..."*