"Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so..." - Swami Vivekananda
"Go back and tell him to stay there, that we will be back in fifteen minutes," I told Nick. We hurried to the nearest store: bought our gifts carefully. "It can’t be too heavy," I explained. "He has to be able to carry it around." We settled on our purchases. We rushed back to the spot where we left him, and there he was, still waiting. And still, nobody else was stopping for him. With hands shaking, I grabbed our bags and climbed out of the car, all five of us, each carrying a gift. As we walked up to him, I feared, hoping he wasn’t a serial killer. I looked into his eyes and saw something that startled me: I'd misjudged him. He was fighting to hold back his tears. How long had it been since someone showed this man kindness? He stood there, like a child, and I felt like my small contributions were so inadequate. As he stood up, I looked directly into my eyes: there were so blue, so intense and mine filled with tears as he said, "Ma’am, I don’t know
what to say." He then put both hands on his bandanna-clad head and just started to cry. This man, this "scary" man, was so gentle, so sweet, so humble.
We never get to know how nice people are, because most of us are so judgmental. Many of life's experiences leave us mangled. It's the same way sin, left us, until Jesus came. No one else would stop to cater to our needs. Helping others might inconvenience you, but you'll NEVER lose your reward. Put a lingering smile on someones' face today.
No comments:
Post a Comment