My sister shared this with me earlier this week, and it really stuck in my mind. I know this post is a little bit different from what I normally do, but I wanted to pass this along. I’ll be back with a card later, but in the interim, you might wanna know…..
How to Dance in the Rain
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.
I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.
The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s disease.
As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.
He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.
I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’
He smiled as he patted my hand and said,
‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’
I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,
‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’
True love is neither physical, nor romantic.
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
‘Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.’
BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
Wow!
Aww, Becca.. That’s lovely!
What a lovely story! That love is strong! Thank you for telling it!
oh this story is just lovely!
Do you mind if I lift it to post on my own blog? We all need to understand what REAL love is all about.
What a lovely story………..brought tears to my eyes!!!
very sweet story and i can relate. thanks for sharing. have u missed me? well i will email u the details but im back and swinging now. gotta catch up with all your posts.
hugs kay
I love the story..strong love is great..
The card is lovely also.
Just beautiful! You might be interested to know that Papertrey Ink has has a stamp set with the saying, “Life isn’t about surviving the storm, but learning to dance in the rain.” I LOVED that saying and have used it on a card. I’ll be posting it later, but it’s being published elsewhere, so I’ll have to wait. But check out PI. Thanks for posting. Love a goose-bumpy story!
Becca….you’re timing is awesome. I have two grown daughters, one not married and wishing she was and one that is married and wishing she wasn’t. I plan to send the “Dancing In the Rain” to both of them. THANKS! I’m praying GOD will speak to both of them through this.
Beautiful story, Becca. True picture of Love according to I Corinthians that Never Fails.
When our aunt had Alzheimer’s, our uncle treated her with this same love….setting a wonderful example to everyone that knew them. His gentle spirit was reflected back in kind, whereas her daughter shared that when she was impatient with her mother, she also in kind received impatience back. How wonderful our Uncle could continue in love and patience toward our Aunt…..blessing everyone and showing re ‘reap what we sow’ in many ways.
va
Becca: I come to your blog every single day for creative inspiration and ideas. I am never disappointed. But today you have also fed my sould with this little story of the elderly gentleman. Thanks for sharing it and here’s hoping you have a terrific week!
Mary
http://www.primitiveseasons.blogspot.com
Aww Becca – I love visiting – I’m welling up reading this wee story, what a wonderful love to share througout a lifetime….
Thanks for sharing Becca
Dawn
x
Hi Becca, that story really touched me. I am an RN and one of my husband’s uncles was a patient in the nursing home where I was evening supervisor. I took my lunch at the same time as dinner trays were served so I could go feed Uncle Paul. In the year I was there, he said one sentence to me. I asked him if he wanted more coffee, (I always talked to him normally even though he never responded) and when I asked that question, he look straight at me and replied, “Don’t mind if I do.” I nearly fainted, it was sooo special. He didn’t live long after that but he felt like family from just those dinner times. I am new on your site and will tlry to come every day, Blessings, Rosie West, INdiana
I love your cards. and I love this .
Thank you for sharing that.
That truly effected me. Brought a tear to my eye, a smile to my lips and I think my heart skipped a beat. praying that when I am old & grey my husband & I will love each other that way still.
Here’s something that happened to me about 6 years ago. There was this elderly gentleman that came into the clinic that I was working at. He had a fall and his fingers were tuning black and blue and they were starting to swell pretty bad. It was his left hand and he wore a wedding ring. The Dr said that he had broken 2 of his fingers and that he needs to splint and bandage his fingers up. Also he told the man that he needed to cut his ring off before they cut the circulation off his finger.
The man became upset and said that he had never in his 56 years of marriage taken off his ring. He asked if his wife could come in and when she did ( little itty bitty thing) sat right beside him held his hand and started to reminisce about their first meeting and how he fell in love with her and how it took 18 years to convince her to marry him. They got married when they were 21 years old. they looked at each other and smiled and I got goosebumps.
I felt so bad when I started to cut the mans ring off, he started to cry and his wife kept holding his other hand and whispering things to him that I could not hear. I felt like crying, When I gave him his ring he just kept saying I promised you I would never take this off to show you how much I love you. His wife was crying by that time and said to him That he didn’t take it off but it was cut from him and that it didn’t count. She tried to make light of it. then she said. And besides I’ve been wanting to get new rings forever and started to laugh. He wasn’t buying it though.
I wondered what happened afterwards with the gentleman and his wife. I saw him about 7 months later and I asked him how his fingers were and he said he had a little arthritis in his hands but was feeling good. he then proceeded to show me his new ring and his wife showed me her new ring as well. I asked him what he did with his old ring and he said that he had it melted down and made it into a heart that would attach to a chain.They had planned on giving it to their grandson or granddaughter ( I can’t remember ) on his/her wedding day with a note about loving someone forever.
I never forgot them. They made me realize that I would only settle for the real thing.
Becky
I have this exact saying hanging in my office at work! It sure is a statement to live by. God gives us trials to draw us closer to Him. But then He allows us free will to handle these trials in whatever way we see fit. It blesses everyone involved and Glorifies our Lord when we take this approach.
Funny thing about the rain…..the earth needs it to thrive, it cleanses and it is so calming to me. I love the rain!!! But it is amazing as you go throughout the day, going here and there in the rain….how many people walk around grumbling and complaining about the rain just like life.
This little story also reminds me of someone very special to me tha I recently lost. She loved life and looked for the best in whatever situation came her way. What an impact that made on my life.
May your day be as blessed as you are a blessing to me!
Becca – what a beautiful story!! I am crying as I post this. I can so relate to it. My husband passed away with Alzheimer’s a year ago and he still knew who I was but there were times when I really wondered whether he really knew who I was or that I was even there as he seemed so in his own little world. It was sad for me at those times but one day when I was at my Alzheimer’s support group meeting I mentioned that and one of the nice gentleman there said, “He might not know who you are but he recognizes that “nice lady who comes to see him every day”. I thought what a wonderful thing to say and it made me feel so much better. Your story is beautiful and it was told in such a perfect way – and, yes, he might have not known who I was at times but I knew who he was – and I went to see and be with him every single day.
Thanks for sharing a beautiful story.
Eloise
And now I am crying! I just don’t have words to express how touching this is. Have you seen the movie “The Notebook”? It is a lot like this.