I'm going BLIND!

I do quite a bit of traveling and I mostly travel Southwest Airlines. On SWA you can choose where you sit! This has become one of my favorite parts of flying....Who am I going to sit by? As I walk down the isle I look and decide...HMMMM Where am I going to sit ? When I see that person that strikes me I take a seat! I have had the BEST experiences and conversations...But this one was one of my favorites!

I walked down the isle and there was a middle seat available and it was in between what I would have called 2 grandmas! Both white hair and the perfect hairsprayed curled hair with glasses if you can imagine! I sat down and thanked them for letting me sit there! And then both of them picked up their books and began reading! I thought it was going to be a quiet flight!

I remember feeling like I wanted to talk to her but didn't want to distract her from reading! So I didn't!

A little bit later I had the thought again to talk to her so when I saw her put her book down I asked her, "how she was liking her book?" She said, "Well, it's OK" I am trying to read as much as I can before I go blind!" I of course was like, WOW! I was impressed and shocked all at the same time! Not your normal response! So she begins telling me about her mother and that she has been blind now for about 5 years and that she has the same symptoms of  her mother and has already been told that she will be blind too!

She proceeds to tell me all the things that she is practicing on preparing for when she goes blind! Apparently, it can happen just one random day and not necessarily a progression! So she was telling me that everyday for about 1 hour she practices "being blind" She covers her eyes and counts steps around her house to the bathroom, the kitchen, and different pathways. She practices taking a shower with her eyes covered and getting in and out of the tub! She practices going up and down the stairs and etc. I was so intrigued by her and enjoyed the conversation thoroughly!

She said, "My husband makes fun of me sometimes and he tells me..."You are not going blind yet!" She said back to him..."And I'm not gonna learn over night either!" What a beautiful attitude! It totally made me think of all the things that I could prepare for!

She said, I love my husband but I have learned that the Lord teaches us beautiful lessons through our spouses! She asked me if I was married and I said Yes! She said that I should imagine being married to him without either my sight or hearing! What would I do different? She said to live my life with that in mind and it makes you appreciate him more everyday! What an interesting thought! It really is true!

So she begins to tell me more about her mother and how drastic of a change it was for her when she went blind! She lives in a nursing home and she told me how sad it is because she used to love flowers! She used to buy them for  her for the fragrance but it makes her too sad because she can't see the beauty! That was her mothers favorite part of flowers was to see her garden! So I proceeded to tell her about Scentsy and she said well young lady...you are an answer to my prayers. I was shocked again! She said I have tried and tried to think of something and even prayed to find something that I can bring smell into my mothers life without bringing the sadness of what she cant see! She said, "Of course, candles were out!" And she was so excited about this new possibility! She teared up reading the description of each fragrance! She said, "Oh she will love that smell and that smell. Oh this smell will remind her of...." She was so excited and couldn't order quick enough! It made me tear up! A stranger taught me so many lessons that I still think about!

We exchanged numbers and info and she just looked at me said, "Thank you so much for speaking to me. Thanks for choosing to sit next to me so that you could tell me about Scentsy!" I couldn't thank her enough for blessing my life! I have thought of her many times and even though our paths may never cross again....But, I am forever grateful for the things she taught me!

I so believe this and I say it all the time...that God is waiting to place people in your path! I was so blessed by this wise woman! Never take for granted the places you find yourself in on any given day and the chance to discover the beauty of other people! I wonder if we would have ever spoke to each other had I not spoken first to her! She might have just continued to read her book!

It reminded me of the analogy "TO ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE" God is waiting for us to reach out and then he blesses our life so fully! I could have never reached out to her and my life would have never been blessed like it was from learning from this beautiful wise lady! But instead my life was blessed because I followed the 2nd prompting I had to speak to her that day!

Find JOY in the strangers in your life that are waiting to be your ANGELS!