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Power of Love
The elderly couple slowly made their way down the cracked sidewalk of an older residential area. Her steps, while none too spry, were much more certain than his. His frail torso was bound in an elastic brace, much like an old fashioned corset, and his gait was weak and shuffling.
He seemed to take no notice as the soft breeze lifted a wisp of white hair above his forehead. His face was set and determined as he methodically placed one foot in front of the other. The woman walked a step behind, her hands hovering anxiously at his shoulders, touching him lightly when needed to help him maintain his balance. You could see love, devotion and concern in every faltering step.
It was easy to allow one’s imagination to turn back the clock a little. One could, then, see this man walking strong and confidently beside his woman. No doubt he gallantly offered his arm when the pathway got rough.
I could see her smiling up at him in frank admiration of his strength and vitality. She probably took much comfort in his strong arm and sturdy body. But now, she gently guides his failing footsteps slowly down the sidewalk.
The episode is offered as an object lesson in the fragility of physical, and even mental strength. They both hang precariously on a network of thin tubing that carries vital fluids throughout the body. Let a critical tube become blocked or ruptured and one can become instantly incapacitated -- physically, mentally or both.
Dozens of other circumstances can also strike one down at any stage of life.
In this couple, aging had stripped her of much of her vitality -- and had savaged his strength unmercifully. But, it had not been able to touch the love and devotion they had for one another.
When disease or time withers beauty, saps strength, and lowers energy, love remains pure, strong and vital. It outlives wealth, shrugs off poverty. It continues to see a handsome, strapping man where some might see only a pitiable wreck.
-END-
A Book I Think You'll Enjoy
The elderly couple slowly made their way down the cracked sidewalk of an older residential area. Her steps, while none too spry, were much more certain than his. His frail torso was bound in an elastic brace, much like an old fashioned corset, and his gait was weak and shuffling.
He seemed to take no notice as the soft breeze lifted a wisp of white hair above his forehead. His face was set and determined as he methodically placed one foot in front of the other. The woman walked a step behind, her hands hovering anxiously at his shoulders, touching him lightly when needed to help him maintain his balance. You could see love, devotion and concern in every faltering step.
It was easy to allow one’s imagination to turn back the clock a little. One could, then, see this man walking strong and confidently beside his woman. No doubt he gallantly offered his arm when the pathway got rough.
I could see her smiling up at him in frank admiration of his strength and vitality. She probably took much comfort in his strong arm and sturdy body. But now, she gently guides his failing footsteps slowly down the sidewalk.
The episode is offered as an object lesson in the fragility of physical, and even mental strength. They both hang precariously on a network of thin tubing that carries vital fluids throughout the body. Let a critical tube become blocked or ruptured and one can become instantly incapacitated -- physically, mentally or both.
Dozens of other circumstances can also strike one down at any stage of life.
In this couple, aging had stripped her of much of her vitality -- and had savaged his strength unmercifully. But, it had not been able to touch the love and devotion they had for one another.
When disease or time withers beauty, saps strength, and lowers energy, love remains pure, strong and vital. It outlives wealth, shrugs off poverty. It continues to see a handsome, strapping man where some might see only a pitiable wreck.
-END-
A Book I Think You'll Enjoy
The Tale of Billy the Bit