Some time ago, I accompanied a friend to a conference at a hotel, where he was scheduled to meet someone. While waiting for him in the lobby area just outside one of the conference halls, I sat quietly, scrolling through my phone and minding my business.

After a while, I noticed people going in and out of the hall beside me. Curiosity made me look up. A PhD defense was ongoing, I wasn’t really paying attention until I heard gentle clapping from inside the hall.

Then came the turn of a middle-aged man, probably in his late 50s. He stood at the front with a soft, shaky demeanor. He spoke slowly, carefully picking his words. Every few sentences, he paused.. not for effect, but because he stuttered. Still, each time he managed to get through a point, the audience clapped.. not out of pity, but in admiration and respect.

Toward the end, his voice broke. He asked everyone to kindly rise for a minute silence in honor of his wife, who had recently passed away. And in that moment of silence, he broke down in tears.

What I learned afterward left me speechless.

The man had only a diploma in Business Administration when he got married. His wife, a successful banker, pushed him to go back to school. She supported him through a BSc, then a master’s, and finally the PhD program he was now completing.

But just months before he would earn the title “Doctor,” his wife lost her life to breast ******.

He was shattered. She had been his strength, his motivation, and his helper. She had even taken time off her busy banking schedule to help him share questionnaires during his research. Though she herself had only a master’s degree, she pushed her husband beyond that point, right up to the very top.

Now here he was, defending his thesis without her beside him.

That’s when I truly understood the kind of love that doesn’t compete, the kind of spouse who gives you wings to fly without fear of your success.

Not everyone is lucky to have such a partner, one who celebrates your growth, fights for your dream like it’s theirs, and stands by you even when life tries to break you.

#knowledge
#Blessing