ThunderStruck
Joined: 18 Sep 2007
Posts: 3
Warnings: 2
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 Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:02 pm Post subject: Frank: Christmas 2003 |
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Frank: Christmas 2003
On a snow furry filled Christmas day in 2003 my wife and I were returning home from her parents when, while stopped at an intersection, watched a man, with no coat, cross an ice stained road. Knowing that he had to be extremely cold, I looked at my wife the very moment she looked at me as if she knew what it was I was about to say. The words were never spoken; they did not have to be. She simply made the left turn into the parking lot that was close and we watched as he climbed down a 48in steel culvert. With out hesitation I stepped from our truck and approached the entrance to what I eventually found out was his home. He was dirty, as he had obviously not bathed in quite some time. I knocked on the metal, I mean it was his home and no matter how different it was to what most think of as a “Home”, it was still his and I intended to show the respect that I would have given to any person, homeless or not.
He hesitantly answered and as he came closer, I extended a hand, as any man would have done to another man and he shook mine as a huge smile came to his face. Somehow he knew I was no threat so he asked me to and I quote “I don’t have much, but would you break bread with me?”. He offered me a part of a leftover sandwich and some of the chips from a newly opened bag. I thanked him and indeed Broke Bread as I ate some of the chips he offered. So we sat, eating chips, no words were needed nor said. We simply did what is suggested in the ‘Good Book’ and shared time on the day of the birth of the Christ Child. There in a culvert, on a snowy day, on the outskirts of Hot Springs, Arkansas, we Broke Bread. He then asked me to pray as he was not good at “Out Loud Praying” but wanted to say thanks to him who made the bread possible. Most would have been blown away at that, but, for some reason I knew what and why.
No other spoken word were said, they were not needed. When I rose to leave I looked at him, he looked at me, the gleam in his eye, said more than he could have ever imagined. I removed my Wrangler Sheep Lined Blue Jean Jacket, the very jacket I had won in a winter rodeo, and handed it to him. He smiled, accepted the gift, and put it on. At this point, my wife appeared at the end of the pipe, all the leftovers from her parents in hand, lowered her head and stepped in out of the snow. She put the items down on the blanket he had there and without saying a word, turned and left the same way she came in. I turned to look at him and again shook his hand, then wished him a Merry Christmas and left. Nothing was ever said about that to any individual from that day on.
Today I received in the mail a letter from a place in West Bend, Indiana. It had a letter as well as a $100 bill inside. The letter explained that Frank had found the money in my jacket along with my business card with my info on it. It went into detail how Frank, with the help of the Salvation Army, went home to his family. He is now working as an ASE Mechanic with hopes to work in the racing end in some fashion.
The letter went on to explain that Frank was now expecting his first son. He would like permission to name him Michael. Not just any Michael, but me. I sat and cried and as the tears fell, I went to my knees and did again what we had done that cold day on 2003, I Prayed. I thanked him for what he had done for Frank, and that is when I realized who actually received the blessing that day. It might in my mind have been Frank that received the Blessing, but in actuality it was I whom had been on the receiving end.
People touch others in ways they will never be aware of. Most do not think their actions make any difference in the grander scheme of things, but if and when something like this happens you will realize it is You with the help from Prayer that sets the Grander Scheme, and with that knowledge you know your actions do indeed make a difference.
ThunderStruck[/b] |
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