True Love Happens in the Er

True Love Happens in the ER
By: Lisa Joyner

I was thinking about a friend of mine who left a marriage of 25 years and 5 children behind in order to find “fulfillment” for herself in running marathons and chasing another young, quite -fit runner in her group. I was actually feeling sorry for her because she doesn’t even know yet what she has so glibly given up.
My husband and I were in the ER last week and I was very, very sick. I told him to please leave the room because I was going to throw up and I didn’t want him to have to watch that. After raising 7 kids it doesn’t phase me at all, but I really didn’t want him to have to go through it. His voice was strong and steady when he said, “I’m not going to leave you, I’m going to help you.” He got a paper towel wet and held it on my forehead as he rubbed my back and comforted me. I wasn’t thinking about my friend’s situation at that particular time, but after I got home I thought about my time in the ER and what her “Marathon Man” would have done if they had been in that situation. I believe he would have sprinted for the door.
Later in my hospital room I was able to sleep. I felt calm and safe, because my husband sat beside my bed all night, holding my hand.
. The love and devotion that my husband demonstrated for me started 30 years ago and grew day by day through all the struggles, sorrow, joy and accomplishments of simple, everyday life. This deep abiding love cannot be created . It is grown, over time and sealed with memories.
Robert Louis Stevenson said: “Sooner or later in life, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences.” Oh I grieve for my friend when her day comes to taste the bitter food on her plate. She doesn’t know it yet, but true love happens in the ER.