Simply Sweet

In sickness and in health.

Yesterday while eating lunch in our back room with Tami and Renee we saw three people walking out of the store adjacent to ours. Two were elderly, perhaps in their 80’s and the other was a woman in her 40’s. We stopped talking and noticed them because the older man and the younger woman had the elderly lady propped up in between them and were helping to hold her up. She was shuffling her feet along very slowly and it was evident that they were essentially holding up most of her body weight.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, something happened with the woman and she started to go down onto the pavement. The older man and younger woman stopped and turned trying to use all of their strength to brace her and hold her up in an effort to prevent her from falling onto the ground. We all jumped up and ran outside to offer our assistance, but by the time we had gotten out there the two had pretty much gotten a handle on her body weight and had prevented her from falling.

We walked with them as they got her to the car and started asking questions to make sure that everyone was okay. It turned out that the man was her husband, and her caretaker. She had alzheimer’s. The man shared that sometimes she forgets to use her legs and that usually she has a walker. He talked about how he helps her from the bed to the bathroom at home, and all around the house. He had walked her to the store with the hope of giving her some exercise, but her legs had given up.

He then focused all of his attention, energy, and 80 year old strength on bending down and gently, carefully, and slowly lowering his wife into the passenger seat, going so far as to totally shield her head with his arm to prevent her from knocking her head on the roof as she sat down. He buckled her up, turned to us and thanked us, and then got in the car and drove away with the younger woman (probably the daughter—she had tears in her eyes the whole time) and his wife.

And not once, not for one second, was there even an ounce of frustration, regret, or despair in his voice. He wasn’t rude. He wasn’t embarrassed. He wasn’t impatient. He didn’t complain about the unfairness of life. He literally acted normal, went about his duty as a faithful husband, and then left on his way with not even a frown.

It was beautiful.

And we went back inside and said to each other: “THAT is what all couples need to see before they decide to get married. THAT is what we all need to understand that marriage should look like. THAT is love. THAT is commitment. THAT is truly the example of selflessness.”

Here’s Philippians 2:3:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

And I really like it in the Amplified Bible:

Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].