Faith Filled Friday

Welcome back to another Faith Filled Friday. :)

So I wanted to share what happened a couple mornings ago. It was unexpected, but has affected me since it happened. I had a customer that stopped by completely out of the blue, very random. I first saw him pull up through my security camera but thought he was going to the daycare across the street. Instead, I watched as he walked to my front door and rang the door bell. Since I had just gotten up, I was considering letting him walk away, but something...a driving force told me to throw on my clothes and go out and catch him. This all happened in mere seconds but it seemed much longer.

I opened my door and he was gone. Then I heard the car start so I made my way out as fast I could. He saw me, turned the car off and got back out of his car. At the time I did not know he was a customer. I have been doing my line of work for so many years and never had any one of my customers actually stop by. He told me he had come by for three reasons, the first of which he explained, was him leaving for Oregon to spend Christmas with his children, so he wanted me to stop service to his home for the dates he’d be gone. Well, I had no idea where he lived, so I asked for his address. He gave it to me and also mentioned he left the note in my mail slot.

When I saw his address, I remembered him, but only by way of a few waves of the hand over the years as sometimes his front door was open and he'd be behind his screen door. Because he’s elderly, I always pull into his driveway to ensure the newspaper lands on his front porch. Over the years I had also seen his wife up early and so I asked him how she was and he told me she had passed away. There was a pain in this man's eye's that was so present.

Suddenly I knew that God had a role for me that morning and had led this man to my home. He went on to talk about how much he missed her, the sleepless nights without her, how he could feel an emptiness and void he'd never felt in his life. He explained that they were married for 42 years and lived in the same home for 37. I am not always the most confident person, but for some reason I felt this understanding without him even going into all kinds of detail. At the same time I could feel his pain, I could also feel the energy of happiness in the way he moved his arms, the way he spoke, tone of voice as he talked about the love of his life.

I didn't say much at the moment, just asked a little question here and there when he slowed his talking... as to keep him going. I was desperate to hear him, his story, his pain, his... 

He explained to me that when his wife died, that there were only two things he could depend on; that everything else didn't make any sense, didn't feel like it mattered.  He told me the first thing he counted on at the end of his day was his children. They always called him and his daughter who lived near would always come over and check on him. He told me the second thing he could counted on was me delivering the newspaper and that sound of it hitting his door when I porched it was the noise he waited for. It was like a sign he needed to start his day when he felt nothing for him to rise to, but still he would.

Wow I was beside myself in hearing that...so much so, I almost cried. It touched me in a way I had not felt in years. To know that something I do and work hard at had helped this man survive the abyss of his sadness, it just felt so good to be a part of that; that I was making a difference in someone's life. He told me it wasn’t just a newspaper I delivered; it was the tool to remind him the world keeps spinning without our loved ones and we need to live on, that we need to breathe. 

I have really been trying to connect the dots in my life, always have but even more so in the last year of life. The possibilities of God's love and intervention are absolutely infinite... I can't help but think that some things might not have worked out the way in which I wanted them to because perhaps God needed me to be there for that man all these years later. All the times I thought "It sure would be easier to not pull in and porch his paper" when I was running later due to the stresses of life, But every night I did. I am so glad I did!

It’s true what they say about the small things do matter. Sure, doing them might make things a little challenging, and yet the power of it can be so empowering for another soul. 

Know that what you do does matter even the little things can turn out to be big things for someone else. Join me next Friday for part two of this incredible true story that sparked my soul with life and love

John