Author/speaker Jennifer Rothschild was diagnosed at 15 with a rare, degenerative eye disease that would eventually steal her sight. In her DVD study Fingerprints of God, Jennifer shared the following story:

It was a very crowded bus, and all the passengers looked sympathetically as Susan made her way down the aisle. She fumbled with her cane, and as she nestled herself into her seat, the onlookers just watched with questions and concern. You see, it had been a year since Susan lost her sight.

When she first became blind, she fell into a deep pit of depression. Her world had crumbled, her sadness overtook her. Not only was her heart crushed, but so was the heart of her husband, Mark. He so loved his wife and wanted to help her, and so he did. Inch by inch, he helped to pull her out of that pit of depression, helped give her skills and confidence, and to regain her sense of self. And that husband, so in love with his wife, did all that he could to help her in her new state of darkness.

Well, after many months of Susan's blindness, she began to feel more confident because of Mark's help, and she felt like she could perhaps return to her job again. And Mark promised that he would help her, of course, with that also. So every day, Mark would drive his wife to work, walk her into the office, make sure she was settled, and then leave and go to his base that was across town, because Mark was a military officer. Then, he would come back and get her from work. This went on for several weeks. And with every day, though Mark so wanted to help his wife, the burden was becoming heavier because it was becoming logistically impossible for him to make it to his base on time.

He dreaded having to announce to Susan that he wasn't going to be able to drive her to work. But in the end, he had to. "I can't ride the bus to work," she replied. "I'm blind. How am I going to know how many stairs there are? How am I going to know what path to take? I feel like you are abandoning me."

Mark's heart was crushed. He promised her, like he had done from the very beginning, he would do whatever it took to help her until she felt confident and independent on the bus. He helped her with the routes. He helped her learn the stairs and learn the paths. And so, finally, after several weeks of doing such, Susan was confident. He went to his base; she went to her work.

Monday morning, she got on the bus. She went to work, she came home; it was flawless. Then Friday morning arrived. Susan made her way onto the bus, and as she went to pay her fare, the bus driver said, "Ma'am you sure are lucky." Susan said, "Are you talking to me?" The bus driver said, "Yeah. It must feel good to be cared for as you are." Susan replied, "I don't know what you mean, sir."

The bus driver said: "Well, you know, every morning when I drop you off at your stop, as soon as those doors open, I can see that man standing over there at the corner. And he watches you. As soon as you step off the bus, his eyes are on you. I think he's some kind of military officer because of his uniform. And his eyes follow you as you walk across that parking lot. And his eyes don't leave you as you're trying to walk up those stairs. And when your hand touches that door knob, his eyes are on you. Until you open that door and go inside, that man doesn't take his eyes off you. And once that door closes, he stands straight and tall, like a sentinel, and he salutes you, and then he blows you a kiss."

Susan burst into tears. She had no idea that her husband had been watching her. But the lover of her soul never takes his eyes off of her.