Devotion
My view as I am sitting in the hospital room is of my mother, her back to me, sitting beside the hospital bed holding my Dad’s hand. He is looking into her eyes and she is returning his look with as much love as I think I have ever seen travel between them. Not just a passing glance but a long, full of meaning, look that seemed to come from deep within their souls. He has been close to death and they both know it but this moment they have been given is frozen in time. 67 years they have been together. Not all of them good years but together they stayed. They took their vows seriously at 16 and 18. Now at 84 and 86 they face the very real possibility of being separated. “Until death do us part”. How can any of us understand the life connection these two have? We haven’t even begun to have as many years together as they. Most of us have broken vows.
Permanency is not a value much anymore. I wonder what we are missing. Unhappy years maybe. But what is the cost? My first husband and I didn’t make it through the unhappy times and we have memories that I will never have with anyone else. Can you just imagine how many memories these two have being together 67 years! They were just children when they married. Daddy has outlived all of his family and mother all her immediate family and many of their friends. I have been blessed to have had so many years with them and am not looking forward to having them gone. They continue to teach me.
While I was at their house recently one of their caretakers told me a story I could clearly see happening. My Dad fell. Mom couldn’t help him up. She called for help but there was a time lapse before anyone could get there. When they arrived they found her sitting beside him. He had a pillow under his head and a cover over him. She had done all she knew how to do to make him as comfortable as she could. It has been that way all of their life together. She is often called a saint by the family. I think he would have done the same for her if he could. Their devotion is strong even when life is really hard. I can’t help but think God will reward such dedication and love. “Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” They aren’t perfect but I see much of this kind of love.
