YOU'LL
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
that 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.
& nbsp;
'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 he lp
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 and 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 and 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, and with some
difficulty, the woman and the police officer got
Jack into th e cafeteria and
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
and the lunch bunch had not yet
arrived. The manager strode across the
cafeteria and stood by he
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 and smiled. 'Sir, are you
familiar with Eddy and
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.'
'An d 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 and 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 giggle.
'Would you like to join
us in a cup of coffee and 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, and I came
through that very
door, cold and 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 and had been kicked out of
my apartment. I walked the
streets for days. It was February and I was cold
and nearly starving. I
saw this place and walked in on the off 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. Y ou 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, I 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
and 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 and 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 and
get a place to live until
you get on your feet. If you ever need anything,
my door is always opened to
you..'
There were tears in the old man's eyes. 'How can I ever thank
you? ' he said.
'Don't thank me,' the woman answered. 'To God goes the
glory. Thank Jesus.
He led me to you.'
Outside the cafeteria, the
officer and 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.'
-----------------------------------
If
yo u have missed knowing me, you have missed nothing.
If you have missed some
of my emails, you might have missed a laugh. But,
if you have missed knowing
my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, you have missed everything in the
world.
Have a Wonderful Day And May God Bless You
Always