In these troubled times let us take time…for a bit of poetry and interiority, like this little child.
Breakfast with God!
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew that to make it to where God lived he would have to go on a long trip; so he stuffed his suitcase with cookies and six cans of soda and he set out.
After having walked three blocks with houses he met an old man. He was sitting in the park staring at the pigeons. The kid sat beside him and opened his suitcase. He was about to drink a soda when he noticed that the old man looked like he was hungry so he offered him a cookie.
With great appreciation the man accepted and smiled at the child. His smile was so radiant that the little boy wanted to see his smile again; so he offered him a soda. Once again the man smiled. The child was thrilled! He stayed there the whole afternoon, eating and smiling without saying a single word.
As evening fell the child felt very tired; he got up to leave. But after taking a few steps, he turned around, ran to the old man and hugged him. The old man offered him his most radiant smile.
A few minutes later, when the child went home and opened the door, his mother was surprised at how lit up his face was with joy. She asked him, “What did you do today to make you so happy?” He answered, “I had breakfast with God.” But before his Mother could respond he added, “You know what, he had the most beautiful smile I ever saw!”
In the meantime, the old man, also lit up with joy, went home. His son, astonished by the expression of serenity that flooded his face, asked him, “Father, what did you do today to make you so happy?” The man answered, “I ate cookies with God in the park.” But before his son could speak he added, “You know what, he’s a lot younger than I thought!”
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Too often, we underestimate the power of the touch of a hand, of a listening ear, a kind word; we minimize the effect of a sincere compliment, of a benevolent act no matter how small; and so it is that each of these gestures can transform someone’s life. People enter our existence, sometimes for some reason, sometimes for only a season, and sometimes for the rest of our lives. Welcome them all in the same way!
Tom DeFILIPPIS, God’s Creation, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA.