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[Jan. 1st, 2012|10:01 pm] |
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[Jul. 28th, 2009|10:54 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | quotes, teh love | ] |
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Love is of source unknown, yet it grows ever deeper. The living may die of it, by its power the dead live again. Love is not love at its fullest if one who lives is unwilling to die for it, or if it cannot restore to life one who has died. ~ Tang Xianzu |
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| Touching Story.... |
[Aug. 27th, 2001|12:18 am] |
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This happened to a guy on a Jewel mailing list I belong to, I thought it was really touching, so I wanted to share:
(http://www.edaf.org)
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Gifts Freely Given
When my wife was hospitalized due to serious pregnancy complications, my world became a total mess. With my wife and child at risk, the stress of seeing to their survival necessarily took precedence over every other aspect of my life. I divided my time between the hospital and work, letting all other concerns fade.
Amongst those concerns was a lone bag of warm clothing and blankets generously donated at our Project Warmth LRC earlier that year. I had decided to personally distribute the materials to those in need, and this bag was all that was left to hand out. I had planned on taking the remainder into Downtown San Diego, but it seemed unlikely that I would be able to go anywhere that I would find a home for these goods. As fate would have it, such a person found me.
Since my wife was facing a long stay in the hospital, I endeavored one morning to bring her as much I could from home to comfort her. Packing the car I noticed the Project warmth bag, but I had no time to spare that day. Mornings were always brutal in terms of parking at the hospital, so I opted to park in the side lot of an adjacent grocery store. The next few moments of my life are amongst the most remarkable in my life.
While I was unloading the car, I noticed a woman rounding the corner from behind the store. She was dressed in the multi-layered fashion of a street person and was clutching a bundle of black plastic trash bags. She walked with a slight limp and I could see scrapes covering her face and hands. Though nearly 30 feet away she still eyed me nervously as she walked.
I found myself gently calling out to her, asking if she had need of warm clothing. She paused, uncertain if or how she should respond to me. I asked her if she had a warm jacket or blanket for the winter. She admitted to having only two thin sweaters to put on over what she was already wearing. At this point I was already pulling out the Project Warmth bag and had half spilled it's contents out. I explained that she was welcome to anything she could use and how/why I was freely giving them. She hesitated and then drew nearer, but still seemed pensive. I found a heavy woman's ski jacket in the bag and held it out to her. She had so learned not to trust other human beings that she could not come within ten feet of me. I laid the jacket down on top of the bag and stepped back to let her examine it.
Keeping her eyes on me, she reached the bag and found the ski jacket to be a good fit (even over all of her layers). Forgetting myself in the excitement of the moment, I dove into the bag for a new blanket I had seen earlier. When I rose to hand her the blanket, I saw that she was crying and smiling.
At that moment all of the stress and emotional energy I has suppressed throughout my wife's hospitalization broke free. Weeping now myself, I couldn't even form the words to offer her the blanket and I just pressed it to her. As she accepted the blanket, she began saying thank you over and over again as she clutched the bundle to her chest. Unable to maintain the encounter, she hurried off across the parking lot. It was almost as if she feared the moment when I would reveal the trap or cruel joke that I was playing and she intended to run before I could.
I can still hear her saying thank you, but I fear she never heard the thanks I gave her... In all of my concern and worry, I had lost sight of who I meant to be in life, why I choose to be available to those in need, and that I in turn could benefit from the aid of others (whether physical or spiritual). It cost me very little to offer those things to her, but she risked a great deal and shared her hope with me. I had always felt the affirmation of having done a good deed, but this was a touch to my soul. I wish that every human being could experience the level of purpose and the sheer joy of kindness that I shared with that woman. I still wonder to this day who received the greater of the gifts freely given that day.
- Jason Vierling
For more information on organizations that can help you clothe someone in need, go to
http://www.edaf.org/basicneeds.htm
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If you have a comment to make about it, I can forward it to him :) |
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