“Help carry each other’s burdens." ~ Galatians 6:2
Kendra was returning to her car
after a dental appointment that’d left her lips as swollen as an African Suri (tribeswoman
with lip plates). Frustrated by work as
a young advertising specialist and in pain following dental surgery, she
flopped onto a local park bench.
She didn’t notice the old man hobbling by until he said in a
barely audible tone, “You know, you’d be a lot prettier if you smiled.” He looked to be in his seventies, was clean
enough-looking, but the stuffed shopping cart he pushed told a different story.
“Oh my,” he said in the most inviting voice she’d heard in some
time. “I’m a pretty good listener. Wanna
sit for a spell?”
Kendra did. “Sometimes
I just want to quit. Nonstop talk of
COVID, protests, looting, violence. I
feel lost in the ugliness; convinced that this is the new normal.
For nearly 20 minutes, he listened respectfully.
It was so cathartic that she felt like she’d
been with a therapist. Kendra got up to
leave and handed him a $20 bill with grateful thanks for his compassion.
“Don’t go yet,” he said.
“We’re not done.” He got up and
bought two cups of coffee with her $20, then sat back down and helped her
develop a plan to get her car fixed, how to prioritize the most urgent needs at
work, and advice to suck on a tea bag to help reduce the swelling.
Then he offered one final thought. “At 79,” he began, “I’ve lived through a lot
– polio, diphtheria, Vietnam and civil rights protests, and financial ruin.
The man seemed surprised when Kendra interrupted by
suggesting that 2022 must be especially difficult for him. He looked straight into her eyes.
“Not really,” he said warmly. “I learned long ago not to view the world
through printed headlines. I see the
world through the good people that surround me.
I write my own captions.”
“Husband Surprises
Wife With Flowers.” “Girl Visits Grandma
in Nursing Home.” “Lost Kitten Found Unharmed.” He patted her hand. “Old Man Makes New Friend!”
His words sideswiped her worries, untethering them from the
stress that’ left her hamstrung by fear.
Her headline now read “Woman
Overwhelmed by Kindness!”
“Our capacity for love increases with every person we cross
paths with. But, too often we neglect those
opportunities God places before us. By
the time we realize just how important that is, we find ourselves with fewer
folks around to practice with.
Almighty Father, open my eyes to see you. Open my ears that I might hear you when I
cry, when I’m scared and when I feel crushed.
Help me anchor myself to You, Lord, and see the possibilities to bring
good to this world for others. Amen
