Musings

A friend of mine often forward me lots of e-mails. Most of them are about Christian living, jokes, snippets of life and some very touching and real life stories. Just recently, I received a particularly touching story written by a doctor.

The story relates to an elderly gentleman, who is one of his patient. It was a busy morning, approximately at 8.30am when this gentleman dropped by his surgery to remove stitches from his thumb. The man said that he was in a hurry for a 9.00am appointment. As he examined the thumb, the doctor began to engage in a conversation with this gentleman. The gentleman told him that he needed to go to the nursing home for breakfast with his wife. She was a victim of Alzheimer disease and had been at the home for quite a while. So, the doctor asked him whether she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him for the last five years.

The doctor was surprised and asked the gentlemen. "Are you still going there every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?" The gentlemen smiled, patted the doctor's hand and said. " She doesn't know me, but I still know her". It was indeed a very touching and revealing thought. What boundless love binds this elderly gentleman to his wife, even though she does not even know or recognize him. Indeed, true love is neither physical or romantic. It is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. A real lesson in life!