Silent witness of love

Each morning, like clockwork, an elderly man and woman walk past our office. They are always holding hands, he is always about a half of a step ahead of her, silently encouraging her along. Sometimes he waves, sometimes they are walking as if on a mission with no time to look up. Rain or shine, you could set your watch by this couple. 8:15 a.m. on the nose, yep...here they come, here they are, and there they went.

I often wonder what their story is. Do they have children, and if so, do those children live nearby? Are they grandparents, they really are old enough that they could actually be great-grandparents...have they experienced that joy of hearing a young child call them "grandma" or "grandpa"? What did this strong, determined man do for a living? Was he always on a schedule that kept him moving and on time? Military? Teacher? Bus driver? What did this petite little woman do in her younger years? Was she a clerk at the grocery store? A nurse? A homemaker? No matter what they "used to be" or "used to do" I know something for sure...

This man loves his lady

You can see it in his eyes when he turns to look at her, you can see it when he stops to adjust her sweater for her. I knew how deep his love for her was when I saw how tenderly he holds her hand, guiding her along, they have NEVER walked by the office without their hands lovingly entwined.

The power of touch. Therapist Virginia Satir advised: "We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth." I am not sure how that translates into hand-holding and touching but I know it works together (hand in hand...sorry, had to say it!). I know this little old lady gets enough touching to survive, enough for maintenance and certainly enough for growth.

As Ed and I grow old together I pray that others will see the love we have for each other, without us saying one word, and I pray other relationships will be blessed by watching our love for each other.

And yes! we do hold hands..and he has always opened the door for me.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous,

it is not inflated, it is not rude,

it does not seek its own interests,

it is not quick-tempered,

it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things,

hopes all things, endures all things.

So faith, hope, love remain,

these three;

but the greatest of these is love.

~Select verses from 1 Corinthians 13~