Sixteen year old Mary Lou had a great friend in Joe. She had recently come to work as a part time employee at a state office and was pleased to have Joe act as her mentor and surrogate father at the office. Joe was a friend to many and could always be relied upon to share a smile or a cheerful word. He was a special encouragement to Mary Lou as he motivated her very best, gave her insight in how to succeed, cheered her on when she did well, provided words of comfort when things didn't go right, and saw to it that Mary Lou progressed in her career.
Over the years, Joe shared in the joys of Mary Lou's marriage, the birth of her children, and he continued to be a great confidant and advisor in matters requiring wisdom, caring and good judgment. In time, Mary Lou was transferred to a different office from Joe yet continued to make occasional contact.
One day, Mary Lou heard that Joe had been hospitalized. She decided to visit but it just didn't happen. In fact, she had even been in the same hospital where Joe was treated yet she couldn't bring herself to visit his room. She just couldn't understand or explain it.
Mary Lou felt that her heart had been pierced with an arrow when she learned that Joe had died. How could she forgive herself? Joe had always been there for her yet she didn't even have the courtesy to visit him during his final days. She wished that she could turn back the clocks, that she could have been back at the hospital again when Joe was being treated, that she could have been with her friend one more time before he died. But... that was not to occur. She grieved and thought of him often but she found little relief from her pain.
Several weeks after Mary Lou had learned of Joe's death, she and her husband retired to bed in the manner in which they always did. Nothing was strange or unusual until late in the night when Mary Lou became aware of a White Light in her darkened bedroom. In an instant Mary Lou became aware that the light bathed a smiling Joe as he looked down on her from the foot of her bed. Mary Lou's husband also became aware of the light as he awoke and hurdled to the foot of the bed to attack what he thought, in his half-sleep, was an intruder. In another instant, Joe and the white light were gone.
Mary Lou and her husband turned on the lights in their bedroom to comfort each other in their fright and great astonishment. One of the lamps in the bedroom had been broken when her husband charged the lighted figure. Other than that, no earthly evidence remained to demonstrate what they had just witnessed. And, Joe hadn't changed! He was still the same loving, caring, and thoughtful person who had mentored Mary Lou over the many years. He had returned one more time to comfort her and let her know that it was all right that she couldn't make the time to visit him. He still wished her well, he again made things right for her and he brought peace to Mary Lou's heart.
By: John P. Wabl
