One In a Thousand

 "Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others."

Booker T. Washington

When I began dating her 46 years ago, it didn’t take long to realize that Donna Gustainis was an exceptional individual.  After marriage, my initial perception was confirmed countless times over the years.  It was never more apparent than the summer of 2021 as we sat together in a Sunday School class in a quiet Chicago suburb.

When Donna’s brother Albert passed away, it was a very difficult time.  He had been the primary caregiver for their mother, who had advanced dementia. The difficult task of making burial arrangements for her brother, finding a care facility for her mother, and cleaning out a house full of decades of accumulation fell on Donna’s shoulders.  We made countless trips from our home in Butler, Pennsylvania to Chicago to take care of the house.  On one such trip, we attended church in my mother-in-law’s old ward.

Due to dementia, she hadn’t attended there in years.  Still, we hoped for conversation with individuals that may have known her.  Unfortunately, the ward was very transient with lots of turnover. We didn’t find a single individual with past connections to my mother-in-law.  So, there we sat in Sunday School, two individuals in a sea of 30 or 40 strangers.

In the course of the lesson, reference was made to a scripture, which read, “...he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.”  Concern was expressed by a sister who sat alone.  A discussion between this sister, the instructor, and class members ensued. Perhaps this good sister struggled.  Perhaps she had been away from the church and was now making a renewed effort to come unto Christ.  The concept that gaining “greater light” could ultimately lead to greater condemnation was overwhelming.  She grew emotional and hurriedly left the chapel, nearly in tears.  Awkwardness hung in the air. Not a single soul knew what to do.

Donna has love and compassion for all. She is inclined to soothe every pain in the world, to mend every wound, to console the anguished heart, to aid the afflicted. Despite the weight of the world that she felt at the time, of the forty people in the chapel that day, it was her, the stranger, that quickly rose and went in pursuit of the grieving soul, 

She caught the troubled sister in the hall where she offered a sympathetic ear, words of compassion,  encouragement, and a hug.  Had there been a hundred people in that Sunday School class, maybe even a thousand, Donna would have been the one to rise.

Mother Teresa was a devout Catholic nun, known throughout the world for her efforts to feed the hungry and lift the downtrodden.  My sweet wife is of a similar mind, only her efforts are not played out on the world stage.  She leaves her mark on the world one soul at a time.