You never know what word uttered will cause people to think. You never know what action undertaken will bring about a question of faith in the heart of its recipient.
As some of you may know, the parish where I am assigned undertook a new project at Christmas this past year. We invited parishioners to provide gifts for the elderly in our community. The response to this invitation was overwhelmingly positive. More than 45 individuals from our parish and community benefitted, and the stories of gratitude are still flowing in.
Evidence a converstaion that I had this week. In one case, a gift was delivered to an elderly gentleman who, as it turns out, was on his way Home. His family was gathered in his room when the person bearing the gift arrived. Because the intended recipient was too weak to actually open the gift, someone else in the room unpacked it but their wonder and perplexity grew even more when they discovered that the gift inside the bag was Thomas the tank engine.
Had there been some mistake? Was this toy, usually intended for a child really meant for an elderly gentleman? As it turned out, the man's grandson (or perhaps it was his great-grandson) was also present in the room along with his family, and since he was very young, was enamored with this new arrival. As the rest of his family stood around the bed, praying the elderly gentleman Home, the little boy sat contentedly off to the side playing with his new toy.
A gift intended for his grandfather had thus been bequeathed to his grandson, and at that moment, it's exactly what he needed.
As some of you may know, the parish where I am assigned undertook a new project at Christmas this past year. We invited parishioners to provide gifts for the elderly in our community. The response to this invitation was overwhelmingly positive. More than 45 individuals from our parish and community benefitted, and the stories of gratitude are still flowing in.
Evidence a converstaion that I had this week. In one case, a gift was delivered to an elderly gentleman who, as it turns out, was on his way Home. His family was gathered in his room when the person bearing the gift arrived. Because the intended recipient was too weak to actually open the gift, someone else in the room unpacked it but their wonder and perplexity grew even more when they discovered that the gift inside the bag was Thomas the tank engine.
Had there been some mistake? Was this toy, usually intended for a child really meant for an elderly gentleman? As it turned out, the man's grandson (or perhaps it was his great-grandson) was also present in the room along with his family, and since he was very young, was enamored with this new arrival. As the rest of his family stood around the bed, praying the elderly gentleman Home, the little boy sat contentedly off to the side playing with his new toy.
A gift intended for his grandfather had thus been bequeathed to his grandson, and at that moment, it's exactly what he needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment