Sitting there at Wendy’s he placed her napkin just right tucked into the collar of her shirt and then he settled himself at the table and readied the fork to feed her. His hand began to quiver slightly as he brought the fork full of baked potatoes to her pursed lips and he coaxed her gently saying “It’s your favorite dear”. The fogginess in her eyes began to clear a bit and she opened her mouth to receive the nourishment. In only a few short moments I witnessed the unending love of a husband for his wife. Right there in the middle of a fast food restaurant surrounded by people and children noticed by no one but me and I could not shift my eyes from the scene. Without trying, without knowing others looked on He loved her unconditionally.
He loved her the way that God loves each one of us. God sits down with us daily and prepares us for the feast of life He sets before us. He raises the fork full of life nourishing faith and sweetly and ever so gently calls us by name and asks us to receive His love. He does it in our homes, in our cars, in our workplace, in our schools, at our practices, in our hearts and in our souls every day. It is up to us to open our hearts and souls to remove the fogginess and receive His gracious and unconditional love everyday of our lives.
Wow.
Beautiful.
You know, my grandfather took care of my grandmother in much the same way. She had alzheimer’s. He took care of her, at home, for 11 years before finally putting her in a nursing home. Taking care of her was an overwhelmingly difficult task. He eventually had to put her in the nursing home because she would “sleep walk” in the middle of the night. Not just in the house, but throughout the neighborhood. He didn’t want to do it, but he knew it was the best thing for her.
And he visited her every day. Every single day.
He would go to the grocery and pick up something she liked. Then he would go to the home and stay with her for hours.
Love.
I don’t remember how long this went on before she died, but it was for years. After her death, he wasn’t the same. He stuck close to home. Although he still had his quick wit and thoroughly entertaining sense of humor, he didn’t take the opportunity to share it with too many people. He just didn’t get around much anymore. He missed her too much.
Thank you for sharing this story. It is a wonderful testament to the love of husband and wife in marriage. And it gives us a glimpse of the ideal to which we are called.
A touching story and a wonderful example to live up to. Thanks for sharing this!
Blessings,
Jay
The old man in the story represents Jesus and the wife represents the church. I couldn’t help but think of the willingness of Jesus to feed us with His own body and blood when I read this beautiful story. He who knew us before we were formed deigns to dwell within us with His own body.
Perfection comes only one way and that is through unconditional love (humility).
“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves his bride the church”
Eph. 5: 25
Thank you Lori and God bless you+++
This was beautiful Lori. I love to watch older people together, it can be so sweet. They have been on their entire journey of life together and they are still in love, caring for each other.
What a lovely thing to write about. Thank you.
Beautiful. Just beautiful.
thank you for making sure i saw this. beautiful.
Oh, you’ve drawn such a beautiful parallel. So precious.
Absolutely beautiful. Brought tears to my eyes. Wow.
That is the most tender story – Just helped me refocus my day.
So Sweet.
Thank you SO much for sending me this link 🙂 What an amazing example of God’s love. Thanks for being a blessing!
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this story and applying it so well to our spiritual lives! 🙂
A beautiful story Lori. My husband and I often joke about taking care of each other in our old age. I can see this scene playing out with us. You have reminded me of the true blessing I have in my husband. He is an awesome man. Thanks for sharing.
Very sweet! Reminds me of how my grandparents were with each other. ♥ Katherine
Life Blossoming Systems
Thank you for letting me know about your beautiful post! What a touching glimpse of such a tender moment! I love older couples! My grandparents are so sweet like that too.
What a beautiful thing you witnessed! And what a great parallel.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful and touching story!
This was just beautiful…absolutely beautiful.
I once witnessed something similar. It was during hurricane Rita in Texas, and there was an 80-something yr-old couple who had been driving 17 hours. The wife was in a wheelchair and couldn’t take care of herself.
They came to the Church where I was vollunteering to take care of people trying to escape the impending hurricane…and they were exhausted. The husband had been doing all the driving, and you could tell he just wanted to sleep. But he took care of his wife, helping her to the bathroom, getting her pills with shaking fingers, cleaning her up, and then getting her the most comfortable place to sleep in the church…on a couch. And you know what he did then?
He got down on the floor, and slept at her feet. I’ll never forget it.
Amazing love…
Wow. This was a short and sweet post, and I loved the analogy. Family and faith; two things that are near and dear to my heart. Thanks for sharing.
How beautiful. I loved the correlation as well. Thank you so much for directing me here. This was wonderful to read first thing this morning! 😉
That was deep! I actually teared up!! You should share this in class 😉