![\"IMG_1556_Anne](\"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_1556_Anne-and-Eleanor-Shepherd.jpg\")
<\/a>Anne with her mother, Eleanor.<\/p><\/div> “I was born 14 weeks premature; <\/strong>I weighed only 2 pounds and 3 ounces. The medical staff told my mother that it would be a slim chance of survival, so my mother called a priest to baptise me. I was placed in an incubator for 4 months. It was during this period that I was given too much oxygen which damaged my hearing; I have about 20% hearing in both ears.<\/strong> Growing up, I remember asking my parents ‘Why didn\u2019t I die at birth; why do I have a hearing loss?’ They always told me ‘God loves you immensely and he has a special plan for you.’<\/em> This always left me curious and it encouraged my heart to always be open, to understand what He had in store for me. I remember my first job when I was 18 years old<\/strong>; I worked at the post office. In this role I had to answer the phone. Back in those days I had a gadget that you had to slip on the earpiece of the phone to amplify the sound and then take off for the others to use. I hated the phone as it was very hard to hear and many times people on the other end would tease me saying that I was stupid. It wasn\u2019t until I would get home, that I would let out all my tears and bang on the walls in my bedroom in anger. I remember crying at my Mum saying, ‘Why me? Why am I deaf? Why does life have to be so hard!’<\/em> My parents as a couple tried to live the Focolare spirituality<\/a>. <\/a><\/strong>I remember my mother saying to me, ‘Be the first to love. When you go back to work tomorrow, be the first to pick up the phone and explain that you have a hearing loss, and say can you please speak slowly and clearly.’ Up to that point I didn\u2019t want people to know that I had a hearing loss as I wanted to be normal like everyone else<\/strong>. The next day at work I heard the phone ring and in that moment I heard a voice within my heart saying to me, \u2018Be the first to love’<\/em>. For the first time in my life, I picked up the phone and informed the caller that I had a hearing loss. Surprisingly that person was so nice and understanding that it encouraged me to always pick up the phone. My work colleagues could see that I was always answering the phone, which meant putting the gadget on and off for every phone-call. Seeing this difficulty, they started to pick up the phone before me. It was like I had thrown a pebble in the water, causing a ripple effect. I had started to love first and then the others started to love me back. It became reciprocal.