“More blessings come from giving than receiving.” ~ Acts 20:35
Walking briskly down the busy
sidewalk, Cynthia spotted a beggar squatting on the corner. Other pedestrians gave his dirty, unshaven
looks an unsympathetic glance before moving on.
She however, was moved by compassion and hesitated before looking down.
"Sir, are you all right?"
Unfazed by his insolence, she remained frozen in place. "Are you hungry?" she asked.
"No, I just finished dining with Madonna,” he offered
sarcastically. “Go away!!"
The woman's face brightened.
A genuine, infectious smile spread across her – the kind that helps make
friends wherever you go. “You don’t
remember me - do you Jack?”
The old man searched her face with his moist, red eyes. "I’m
not sure . . . you do look familiar."
Much older, a little heavier then when she’d wandered these
same streets years before. "I came
to the city many winters ago looking for work,” Cynthia began, “but couldn't
find anything. I’d been kicked out of my
apartment when I ran out of money. The
street became my home."
Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he
said. "You were scared to death; cold and nearly starving. I could see death behind your tired eyes."
"I know," Cynthia continued. "You gave me a roast beef sandwich and a
cup of coffee. Then you handed me some
bills and told me to get a room for a shower and a good night’s rest. I’ve never been so grateful! But when I looked for you the following day,
you’d vanished."
"So I resumed my job search . . . with confidence. I got a job that very afternoon. It wasn’t much, but I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that,
with God’s grace, prospered."
She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. "When you’re finished here, go see Ms. Byrons,
my company’s Human Resources Manager. I'll
make sure she finds something for you to do around the office." She grinned. "I think she might even give you a little
advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get
on your feet. And if you ever need
anything, my door’s always open."
Jack couldn’t remember the last time that tears washed over
his leathered cheeks. "How can I
ever thank you?
"No need, Cynthia answered. "To God goes the glory - He led me to you!" As I look back on my life, the moments when I
have truly lived are those done in the shadow of HIs love.
Lord Jesus, “if everyone cared and nobody cried, if everyone loved and
nobody lied, if everyone shared and swallowed their pride, then we’d see the
day when nobody died.” Amen (from Nickelback’s “If Everyone Cared”)
