Authentic Genuine Love

Sitting in her wheelchair with a dog in her lap, a lady wheeled herself across one of Spokane’s busiest streets. As I was stopped in my car at a red light, I watched “the lady and her dog.”

What I was privileged to witness, it mesmerized me. It exhibited:

• A lady, although an invalid, living the best she could with her best friend.
• A dog living larger than life for his best friend.
• An authentic genuine love**between a lady and her dog.
• A radiant joy between the two.

Fortunately, she was headed in the same direction as I was driving, so I pulled alongside her in the right land of traffic, rolled down my window, and exclaimed: “YOU ARE A MIRACLE*! May I take your photo?”* Initially, her response was a bewildered look. When my words registered with her, she broke into a marvelous smile and nodded with a yes.

No matter how busy you are right now, please place yourself in my place that blue-sky, chilly day in my RAV4. What do you really see in this photo? Do you see what I saw that day? As you consider the lady’s condition, what now do you see? Are you captivated, enchanted, filled with compassion?

May our busy lives and judgments never be greater than our compassion for others, our tenderheartedness for others — their sufferings, troubles, misfortunes. We may never be privileged to know all that has gone into others’ lives. Yet, they are miracles and can smile**!**

Thank you, the lady and her dog, for touching me. Hopefully, thousands who read this Word of Hope are touched as well.