You Reap What You Sow
The man slowly looked up. This was
a woman clearly accustomed to
the finer things of life. Her coat was
new. She looked like she had
never missed a meal in her life. His first
thought was that she wanted to
make fun of him, like so many
others had done before.
"Leave me alone," he growled...
To his amazement, the woman continued
standing. She was smiling -- her even
white teeth displayed in dazzling
rows.
"Are you
hungry?" she asked.
"No," he answered
sarcastically. "I've just come
from dining with the
president.. Now go
away."
The woman's smile
became even broader.
Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under
his arm. "What are you doing,
lady?" the man asked angrily.
"I said to leave me alone.
Just then a policeman came up. "Is
there any problem, ma'am?" he
asked...
No problem here, officer," the woman
answered. "I'm just trying to
get
this man to his feet. Will
you help me?"
The officer scratched his head.
"That's old Jack. He's been
a fixture
around here for a couple of years.
What do you want with him?"
"See that cafeteria over
there?" she asked. "I'm
going to get him
something to eat & get him out
of the cold for awhile."
"Are you crazy, lady?" the
homeless man resisted.. "I don't
want to go in
there!" Then he felt strong hands
grab his other arm & lift him up.
"Let me go, officer. I
didn't do anything.."
"This is a good deal for you,
Jack," the officer answered.
"Don't blow
it."
Finally, & with some difficulty, the
woman & the police officer got Jack
into the cafeteria & sat him at a
table in a remote corner. It was the
middle of the morning, so most of the
breakfast crowd had already left &
the lunch bunch had not
yet arrived..
The manager strolled across the cafeteria
& stood by his table.
"What's
going on here, officer?" he
asked."What is all this, is this man
in
trouble?"
"This lady brought this man in here to
be fed," the policeman answered.
"Not in here!" the manager
replied angrily. "Having a person like
that
here is bad for
business."
Old Jack smiled a toothless grin.
"See, lady. I told you so. Now if
you'll let me go. I didn't
want to come here in the first
place"
The woman turned to the cafeteria manager
& smiled. "Sir, are you
familiar
with Eddy & Associates, the
banking firm down the street?"
"Of course I am," the manager
answered impatiently. "They hold
their
weekly meetings in one of my
banquet rooms."
"And do you make a goodly amount of
money providing food at these weekly
meetings?"
"What business is
that of yours?"
I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president
& CEO of the company."
"Oh..."
The woman smiled again.. "I thought
that might make a difference."
She glanced at the cop who was busy
stifling a laugh. "Would you like
to
join us in a cup of coffee
& a meal, officer?"
"No thanks, ma'am,"
the officer replied. "I'm on
duty."
"Then, perhaps, a cup
of coffee to go?"
"Yes, ma'am.
That would be very nice."
The cafeteria manager turned on his heel.
"I'll get your coffee for you
right away,
officer."
The officer watched him walk away.
"You certainly put him in his
place,"
he said.
"That was not my intent... Believe it
or not, I have a reason for all
this."
She sat down at the table across from her
amazed dinner guest. She stared
at him
intently.
"Jack, do you
remember me?"
Old Jack searched her face with his old,
rheumy eyes. "I think so-- I
mean you do look
familiar."
"I'm a little older
perhaps," she said. "Maybe
I've even filled out more
than in my younger days when you worked
here, & I came through that very
door, cold &
hungry."
"Ma'am?" the officer said
questioningly. He couldn't believe
that such a
magnificently turned out woman could
ever have been hungry.
"I was just out of college," the
woman began. "I had come to the
city
looking for a job, but I couldn't find
anything. Finally I was down to my
last few cents & had been kicked out
of my apartment.. I walked the
streets for days. It was February & I
was cold & nearly starving.. I saw
this place & walked in on the off
street, chance that I could get
something to
eat."
Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I
remember," he said. "I was behind
the
serving counter. You came up and asked
me if you could work for
something to eat. I said that it was
against company policy."
"I know," the woman continued.
"Then you made me the biggest roast
beef
sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a
cup of coffee, and told me to go
over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was
afraid that you would get into
trouble. Then, when I looked over & saw
you put the price of my food in
the cash register, I knew then that
everything would be all right."
"So you started your own
business?" Old Jack said.
"I got a job that very afternoon. I
worked my way up. Eventually I started
my own business that, with the help of God,
prospered.." She opened her
purse & pulled out a business card.
"When you are finished here, I want
you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons.
He's the personnel director of my
company. I'll go talk to him now &
I'm certain he'll find something
for
you to do around the
office."
She smiled. "I think he might even
find the funds to give you a little
advance so that you can buy some clothes
& get a place to live until you
get on your feet. If you ever need
anything, my door is always open to
you."
There were tears in the old man's
eyes.. "How can I ever thank
you?" he
asked.
"Don't thank me," the woman
answered. "To God goes the glory. He
led me
to
you."
Outside the cafeteria, the officer &
the woman paused at the entrance
before going their separate ways..
"Thank you for all your help,
officer,"
she
said.
"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he
answered. "Thank you. I saw a
miracle
today, something that I will never forget.
And.. And thank you for the
coffee."
Have a Wonderful Day. May God Bless You
Always & don't forget that when
you "cast your bread upon the
waters," you never know how it will
be
returned to you. God is so big He can cover
the whole world with his Love
& so small He can curl up
inside your heart.
When God leads you to the edge of the
cliff, trust Him fully & let go.
Only 1 of 2 things will happen, either
He'll catch you when you fall,
or He'll teach you
how to fly!
The power of one sentence! God is going to
shift things around for you
today & let things work in your favor.
If you believe, send it. If you
don't believe,
delete it.
God closes doors no man can open & God
opens doors no man can close..
If you need God to open some
doors for you...
send this
on.
Have a blessed day
and
remember to be a
blessing...
"The Task Ahead of Me is Never as
Great as the Power Behind Me!!"
36341
22364 Maria, I cannot tell you how much this has touched my heart. you see, I am unemployed, I have enough money in the bank for one more house payment and one more car payment. My unemployment is about to run out, and I have been upset all day, wondering what I was going to do. I just could not imagine God would let me work my entire life to just loose everything. I have had my eye on a particular job, been talking with them about 2 months. (they are doing a background check, very boring reading I am sure) I had not heard back from them, and well, was just about panic. I got an email from the man I have been talking to, and "they" (the powers that be) are working on the information now, and he feels certain I will hear something positive this week. When I read your story, I could just see me. Thank you so much. It really got next to me!
by marjialexa 17 days ago
"See" yourself in that job, too, God will help you! So many of us are in this position because of the bad economy, it's really hard not to question why you've worked all your life only to lose when you're older. There's a lot of us in this boat, Freewill, hang in there, I'm bailing too. Hugs, Marji
408
3217
4335
2969 Many years ago, during the other hard times, early 1980's I went to Wendy's to buy a chicken sandwich, when a got to the register I was told that if was free, I asked why, the manager a beautiful african american lady, told me"I know you don't remember me, but you went to the shelter to give haircuts, and I was so inspire by my haircut and the way I was feeling now that try harder to get a job...and now I am the manager here"...do you think I cried? You better believe it...I did. I used to do lots of voluntary work on shelters,etc., It was a real good feeling knowing that I could make someone feel better, and when I saw this I decided to posted...
36341 I have read this before, and yes we should all take a lesson from this. Not everybody was born with a silver spoon & and a fancy car in the driveway. We all need to be more aware of what people are on the inside, not their looks or what they do or do not have. God Bless and Take time to do something nice each day.
1104 Thank you for posting this ,it is lovely. We all need to take a lesson from this. Not only at this time of year but all year.
10656
8435
54364
1395
11233
490 Oh, my goodness Maria, what a beautifull
story, I believe that every one who reads
this will feel uplifted and believe that
there is only one God, and He will always
stand by you, no matter what.
It also shows us that a little kindness and
love for others will always be returned no
matter what, and that is all God also
want's from us all.
Thank you for this lovely story.
Hugs and God bless
Marietta
6417
freewill, I know how you feel, I been there, God will help you, trust Him!!!!Hugs.