BE GOOD TO YOUR HEART TODAY
TAKE A 20 MINUTE WALK
JAN.4.1998
It was very cold and a light snow was falling
as young
Jimmy Dorche
piloted his Ford Escort
down the street toward the city park.
Snow on
Thanksgiving
was a rarity in this part of the country
and it caused almost as much excitement
as the traditional
turkey dinner,
the traditional afternoon of football,
or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television.
But none of these things were on 17-year-old
Jimmy's
mind
at the moment as he carefully
maneuvered his car over the blacktop.
He had his own tradition to tend to
and what he was looking for
he would probably find in the deserted park.
Usually bustling with activity,
even on cold days,
the park was practically empty now.
Everyone was home with friends
and family
enjoying their
Thanksgiving turkey.
Jimmy was
tempted
to have a bit more dinner himself,
but his
second helping
sat on the car seat beside him
along with a big hunk of
Mom's homemade pumpkin pie
a Thermos bottle of hot coffee.
Jimmy wouldn't succumb to
temptation
and eat more today.
For the past two years,
Jimmy
had established a tradition for himself.
He had never suffered a hungry day in his life.
The son of an
unwed teenaged mother,
he was given up for adoption as an infant
and was taken in by a Christian family.
When he was fifteen,
to honor his
Lord
as well as his parents,
he decided to take his
second helping of
Thanksgiving dinner
to the park to share with a
homeless man
or woman.
His first year,
he had found a man who had been
on his own since he was thirteen.
In the summer he worked odd jobs,
but in winter
he lived at the local rescue mission
where he earned an occasional dollar
by cleaning up the place.
The second year,
he shared his
Thanksgiving dinner
with an elderly man
whose wife had died long before
and his children had
moved to another city.
They never
contacted
their father
nor offered to help
him in any way.
"I reckon they're ashamed of me,"
the rheumy old man had said.
Throughout the year,
Jimmy often thought about the two men.
He had gone to the mission
to try to find them,
but they were gone without a trace.
Now Jimmy wondered
who
he
would meet this
Thanksgiving.
As soon as he arrived at the park,
he saw a
old ragged woman
sitting
hunched
over on the bench of one
of the heavy concrete picnic tables
provided by the city.
She wore an
old battered red coat
and
a dark wool cap
over her matted,
graying hair.
Close beside her
was the tattered bag
that carried all her worldly possessions.
Jimmy pulled the car into a
parking place and got out.
He took the covered dishes
and the Thermos bottle
from the front seat
and began walking toward the bag lady.
When he stood in front of her,
she
jumped
as if she had suddenly
been awakened
from dozing.
She looked up at
Jimmy.
Suddenly her eyes
brightened
and she started to speak but,
instead,
she lowered her head
and stared at the frozen ground.
"God
bless you, ma'am,"
Jimmy said, smiling.
"I have brought you some
Thanksgiving dinner.
Would you do me the
honor of sharing it
with me."
The woman looked at the food.
She was very hungry --
she hadn't eaten
since last night's dinner at the mission.
She nodded
and Jimmy served her food,
uncovered the plates,
put a napkin
and silverware
on the
cold concrete picnic table,
and poured her a
streaming cup of coffee
from the Thermos.
Then he watched her as she ate.
Although it was very cold
in the park,
he felt warm inside.
The
God of love
was clearly at work within him.
He loved his tradition
and he intended to
continue it --
and more --
for the rest of his life.
When the woman had finished,
he cleared the table
and put the dishes into a pile.
He poured another
cup of coffee
into her Styrofoam cup
and closed the Thermos.
Then he
reached into his wallet
and
pulled out a twenty dollar bill.
He thrust the
money
into her gnarled hand.
Then he reached over
and kissed her lightly
on the forehead.
"May
God
richly bless you, ma'am,"
he said softly.
"And thank you
for giving me
the honor
of sharing my
Thanksgiving dinner
with you."
With that,
Jimmy picked up his dishes
and returned to the car.
She had
stayed
in the city purposely to see
him
grow, but remained
carefully in the background
and
out of sight
so she would not
embarrass him
or
cause him pain.
Her own life was a shambles --
time spent in state mental hospitals and,
at other times,
living on the streets.
But she had seen
him
grow into manhood
and was very proud
of his many accomplishments.
Today,
she had
longed to tell him
who she was,
but could not bring herself to do it.
Instead she thanked
God
that
He
had so richly
blessed
her today, in spite of her trials.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She had seen her
son
on Thanksgiving
and he had
loved his mother.
Happy Thanksgiving! MAY GOD BLESS YOU Why Lawson
EVERYTHING IS
"FR EE"
TO COPY
IN GOD WE TRUST
GOD LOVES YOU
2:33 a.m.
JULY , 2007
This is a
"FR EE"
page
so you will
GOD
is real and
JESUS
is alive
Send this to your friends
and
YOUR ENEMIES.
CLICK
WILL YOU KNOW MEIF
ONLY
WE HAD
MORE
SEVEN DAY
a WEEK
CHRISTIANS
IF
your parents believed in
ABORTION
where would YOU
betoday
JESUS IS ALIVE
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