Al-Huda the Message Continues 1/37
Foundation, NJ USA Newsletter for August 2004
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6
Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 -Article 11 - Article 12
The Passenger
The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the young woman with the
white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and,
using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found
the seat he'd told her was empty. Then she settled in, placed her briefcase
on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.
It had been a year since Sarah, thirty-four, became blind. Due to a medical
misdiagnosis, she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into
a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. Once a fiercely
independent woman, Sarah now felt condemned by this twist to become a powerless,
helpless burden on everyone around her. But no matter how much she cried or
ranted , she knew the painful truth - her sight was never going to return. A cloud
of depression hung over Sarah's once optimistic spirit. Just getting through
each day was an exercise in frustration and exhaustion. And all she had to
cling to was her husband,Ismaeel.
Ismaeel was a Military officer, and he loved Sarah with all of his heart.
When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was
determined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to become
independent again. Ismaeel's home background had trained him well to deal with
sensitive situations, and yet he knew this was the most difficult battle he would
ever face.
Finally, Sarah felt ready to return to teaching, but how would she get there?
She used to take the school bus, but was now too frightened to get around the
city by herself. Ismaeel volunteered to drive her to work each day, even
though they worked at opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted Sarah
and fulfilled Ismaeel's need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure
about performing the slightest task. Soon, however, Ismaeel realized that this
arrangement wasn't working - it was hectic, and costly. Sarah is going to have
to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But just the thought
of mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile. How would
she react?
Just as Ismaeel predicted, Sarah was horrified at the idea of taking the bus
again. "I'm blind!" she responded. "How am I supposed to know where I'm going?
I feel like you're abandoning me." Ismaeel's heart broke to hear these words,
but he knew what had to be done. He promised Sarah that each morning and
evening he would ride the bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got the
hang of it. And that is exactly what happened.
For two solid weeks, Ismaeel, accompanied Sarah to and from work each day. He
taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically her hearing, to
determine where she was and how to adapt to her new environment. He befriended the
School bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat. He made
her laugh, even on those not-so-good days when she would trip exiting the bus,
or drop her briefcase. Each morning, they made the journey together, and
Ismaeel would take a taxi back to his office. Although this routine was even more
costly and exhausting than the previous one, Ismaeel knew it was only a matter
of time before Sarah would be able to ride the bus on her own. He believed in
her, in the Sarah he used to know before she'd lost her sight, who wasn't
afraid of any challenge and who would never, ever quit. Finally, Sarah decided
that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and
before she left, she threw her arms around Ismaeel, her "temporary bus
riding companion", her husband, and her best friend. Her eyes filled with
tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, his love. Now for the first
time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday ...
Each day on her own went perfectly, and Sarah had never felt better. She was
doing it! She was going to work all by herself !
On Friday morning, Sarah took the school bus to work as usual. As she was
paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said, "I sure envy you." Sarah
wasn't sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth
would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live
for the past year? Curious, she asked the driver, "Why do you say that you
envy me?" The driver responded, "It must feel so good to be taken care of and
protected like you are." Sarah had no idea what the driver was talking about,
and asked again, "What do you mean?" The driver answered, "You know, every
morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in military uniform has been
standing across the corner watching you when you get off the bus. He makes sure
you cross the street safely, and he watches you until you enter your office
building. Then he blows you a kiss, and slowly walks away. You are one fortunate
lady."
Tears of happiness poured down Sarah's cheeks. For although she couldn't
physically see him, she had always felt Ismaeel's presence. She was blessed, so
blessed, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn't
need to see to believe - the gift of love that a husband and wife share- The
gift of love that can bring light where there had been darkness.
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