Everything happens for a reason. There is no such thing as a coincidence. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
(Take your pick and apply to the end of this post.)
*********************************************************************************
Today I made the decision that I would begin each day by asking myself "What can I do today to make someones life easier, or more joyful?" I was thinking about this concept quite intensly. Probably more intensly than I have thought about any concept in awhile. I thought about how this would take extra energy that I sometimes don't feel I have. I thought about how just this simple commitment could make even a small impact on someone else. I played with the idea that if I performed this simple routine each day, my actions may well become contagious.
Now here comes the part that simply amazed me. Within moments of letting my thoughts settle, there was a knock on my front door. I figured it was most likely a neighbor or a relative of a neighbor, since most of them are elderly and their families know that I make it a point to watch out for them.
I answered the door to find a man in his mid-forties. He said he was homeless and needed to earn some cash, and had noticed that my lawn looked like it needed a mowing. I explained to him that I have a boyfriend who was good for mowing the lawn. After less than a two second pause, I offered to make him lunch instead. He settled in on the porch and I went back inside,made him a quick ham sandwhich, grabbed a bottle of water and joined him out on the porch.
The whole time I kept thinking that it was really remarkable that I put my intentions out there in the universe and was immediately given the chance to act.
It turned out this man's name was Vince and he became homeless when is brother passed away about 6 months ago causing him to lose not only his home but his job as well. You see he worked for his brother, and the lease on the house was in his brother's name. So he was hit quite hard. He lost his brother, his home and his job all in one day. He hasn't been able to find work since in this crappy economy.
While Vince slowly ate and talked and sometimes teared up, I listened intently. I could tell that he hadn't had anyone to talk to in quite sometime and that it was helping to make him feel better.
After he told me a great portion of his life story from where he was born, where he grew up, after being shipped off to Ohio by his mother, who could no longer afford to raise him after her second divorce, to how he survived on the streets of Plant City Florida without a proper roof over his head, he wrapped up half of a sandwich in the Christmas napkin (I assumed for later), thanked me for being so nice to him and wished me a "good rest of my day".
Here's where you can choose one of the sayings and insert it if you choose to do so.
I think I'm going to go with "throw it out into the Universe and see what happens".
