The window

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.The men talked for long hours. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, and where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon when the man by the window could sit up, he would tell his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

His companion looked forward to those one-hour periods where his world would be enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.As the man by the window described all this in detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the wonderful scene.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the man by the window died peacefully in his sleep. The other man asked if he could be moved next to the other bed by the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up to take his first look at the real world outside. He slowly turned to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his roommate who just died to describe such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you" There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. You may be facing a wall now – something that’s keeping you from being happy. But God invites you to find a window there. And that window is faith in God’s wonderful purpose in any and in every situation we may be in.