Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Blind Bus Passenger(We need to learn how to live the true meaning of life)

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, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle,
and found the seat he had 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 and 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,
protested, 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 Forces 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 such 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 and from 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 was not 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 and so angry.
' How would she react? ' he admitted to himself again.
Just as Mark predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again.
"I am blind!" she responded bitterly "How am I supposed to know where I am
going? I feel like you are 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 in his military uniform accompanied Susan to and
from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other senses specifically
her hearing, how 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, he used to know before she had lost her
sight, who was not 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 sincerity, 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 and 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 b us the driver said "Hey, I sure envy you" Susan was 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 year? Curiously,
she asked him "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".
Susan had no idea what the driver was talking about, she asked him again "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 watches you until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives
you a little salute, and walks away. You are really one lucky lady". Tears of happiness
poured down Susan ' s cheeks. For although she could not physically see him, she
could see the light he had created despite her darkness, He had given her a gift
more powerful than sight, a gift she did not 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. To the world you are just a person, but to a person you might be
the world, be the world for somebody else.

God is always standing and watching over us in just the same way. We may not
know His presence, and we may not beable to see His blessed face, but He is
there nonetheless, He is there no doubt, He never abandons us , He watches our
activities very closely. He stands beside us at difficult times, and encourages us
to stand up once again on our feet to face the new challenges lying ahead of us .
He wants us to work very hard with maximum efforts, and in return, He will
certainly show us the right path towardssuccess. We must be trustful, thankful,
and so grateful for He is always there for us.
Be blessed in this thought: ' God loves you even when you are not looking '
'GIVE AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU '

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