Unexpected Love

A while back, one of my hospice patients, Mr. S., told me something that will stay in my heart and mind forever. I was heading out the door, and had just told Mr. S. that I loved him. He stopped me and said he had just one more thing to tell me. He told me, “There are people we expect will love us and others we don’t expect to love us. With those we expect to love us we can, at times, take their love for granted. And if it should turn out that they don’t love us, it will hurt more than you could ever know. But then there are those who you don’t expect to love you.” After he told me this, we spoke no words; we just held each other’s hands.

There are times in your life when you meet someone who loves you “just because.” They don’t love you because they have to, but rather they love you because they want to. They are the people who come along when you least expect it. Their love, because it is unexpected, becomes very dear to you. You realize that there is someone who believes you are lovable.

Mr. S. had told me often of the moment he met his wife. She was a stewardess on the plane he was flying to Alaska. He and a friend were headed there with plans of making it big, carrying a whopping $10 in their pockets. Mr. S., after seeing the smile on the beautiful stewardess’s face, elbowed his friend and said, “She is going to be my wife someday.” He knew that unexpected connection was going to flourish into an abiding love. He didn’t expect that she would love him, but she did. They fell in love, got married and they lived happily ever after.

Unexpected love comes from a complete stranger who has no reason to care. Unexpected love is when we think we are unworthy, and yet someone thinks we are worthy of love. Unexpected love comes from reaching out a hand to someone in need. Unexpected love is holding the hand of someone who is frightened. Unexpected love is when someone stops in their busy day to find out how you are. Unexpected love is seen when someone drives out of their way to give you a hug.

Jesus showed us this kind of unexpected love. He was rich, but He became poor. He held dominion over everything, but He became a baby in the womb. He could heal everyone He met, but yet He died for every single one of us. He embodied unexpected love. Unexpectedly, He is there to love us for eternity.

My Mr. S. became my unexpected love. From the moment we met, he called me a “keeper,” and I told him he was my keeper too. I found that I never wanted to be away from him for too long, as I was always anxious to hear the next thrilling tale of his childhood or his next heartwarming story of love and family. His “gosh oh Friday” statement always clued me in that a whopper of a story was about to be spun. There were other times when we were just silent and would hold each other’s hands.

I am most blessed to have been loved so wholly and so unexpectedly. I know Mr. S. felt the same way too. I know he will forever be my unexpected love. The richness of his love has been my unexpected gift.

Love... unexpectantly.

Mr. S. passed away on January 11th, 2005. He told his hospice RN that he saw his wife. She told him to give her a hug. Mr. S. said he gave her a hug and was going to walk with her. Minutes later he passed. His love will endure in my heart until the end of my life. “I love you more.”