Uncle Jimmy sent this touching story that I thought that I'd share. It been said that "love stories" pull at the strings of our heart. So often amazing and unexplainable things happen that get chalked up as coincidences. But we know better. God is always active in our lives. He makes the seemingly impossible possible.
Read this touching story of God bringing a couple back together after more than
60 years.
As
I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the
street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could
call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter
that looked as if it had been in there for years.
The envelope was worn and the only
thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the
letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline–1924. The letter had
been written almost sixty years ago. It was written in a beautiful feminine
handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand
corner. It was a “Dear John” letter that told the recipient, whose name
appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him any more because her
mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him. It was
signed, Hannah. It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the
name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called
information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the
envelope.
“Operator,” I began, “this is an
unusual request. I’m trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is
there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was
on an envelope in the wallet?”
She suggested I speak with her
supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, “Well, there is a phone
listing at that address, but I can’t give you the number.” She said, as a
courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if
they wanted her to connect me. I waited a few minutes and then she was back on
the line. “I have a party who will speak with you.”
I asked the woman on the other end of
the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, “Oh! We bought
this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years
ago!” “Would you know where that family could be located now?” I asked.
“I remember that Hannah had to place
her mother in a nursing home some years ago,” the woman said. “Maybe if you got
in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter.” She gave me
the name of the nursing home and I called the number.
They told me the old lady had passed
away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the
daughter might be living. I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered
explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.
This whole thing was stupid, I
thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a
wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 60 years old?
Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be
living and the man who answered the phone told me, “Yes, Hannah is staying with
us. “
Even though it was already 10pm, I
asked if I could come by to see her. “Well,” he said hesitatingly, “if you want
to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television.”
I thanked him and drove over to the
nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to
the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me
to Hannah. She was a sweet, silver-haired old timer with a warm smile and a
twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the
letter.
The second she saw the powder blue
envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said,
“Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael.” She
looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said softly, “I loved him
very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young.
Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor.”
“Yes,” she continued. “Michael
Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of
him often. And,” she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, “tell him I
still love him. You know,”she said smiling as tears began to well up in her
eyes, “I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael…”
I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I
took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard
there asked, “Was the old lady able to help you?” I told him she had given me a
lead. “At least I have a last name. But I think I’ll let it go for a while. I
spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet.”
I had taken out the wallet, which was
a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it,
he said, “Hey, wait a minute! That’s Mr. Goldstein’s wallet. I’d know it
anywhere with that bright red lacing. He’s always losing that wallet. I must
have found it in the halls at least three times.”
“Who’s Mr. Goldstein?” I asked as my
hand began to shake.
“He’s one of the old timers on the
8th floor. That’s Mike Goldstein’s wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one
of his walks.” I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse’s office.
I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on.
I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be
up. On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, “I think he’s still in the day
room. He likes to read at night. He’s a darling old man.”
We went to the only room that had any
lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and
asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his
hand in his back pocket and said, “Oh, it is missing!” This kind gentleman found a wallet
and we wondered if it could be yours?” I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and
the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, “Yes, that’s it! It must
have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward.”
“No, thank you,” I said. “But I have
to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned
the wallet.” The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. “You read that
letter?”
“Not only did I read it, I think I
know where Hannah is.” He suddenly grew pale. “Hannah? You know where she is?
How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me,” he
begged. “She’s fine…just as pretty as when
you knew her.” I said softly. The old man smiled with anticipation and asked,
“Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow.” He grabbed my
hand and said, “You know something, mister, I was so in love with that girl
that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I've always loved her. “
“Mr. Goldstein,” I said, “Come with
me.” We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened
and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where
Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her.
“Hannah,” she said softly, pointing
to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. “Do you know this man?” She
adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn’t say a word. Michael said
softly, almost in a whisper, “Hannah, it’s Michael. Do you remember me?”
She gasped, “Michael! I don’t believe
it! Michael! It’s you! My Michael!” He walked slowly towards her and they
embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces. “See,” I
said. “See how the Good Lord works! If it’s meant to be, it will be.”
About three weeks later I got a call
at my office from the nursing home. “Can you break away on Sunday to attend a
wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!” It was a beautiful
wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the
celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore
a dark blue suit and stood tall. They made me their best man. The hospital gave
them their own room and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a
79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple. A
perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.
- Author Unknown
2 comments:
Ah what a sweet story. Thank you for sharing that Brian. :)
Blessings,
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You are welcome Child of God. We need more sweet stories like this to warm our hearts. Blessings.
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