But, is there really any excuse for having a cold heart. Sure, there are circumstances that make us unhappy people. Life goes on! Have you ever run into that old person who is always grumpy and is feared by every little kid on the block? I wonder what their story is. When I was a kid and living in Lincoln Nebraska there was a grumpy old man that lived on our block. We were little enough that we had to stay on our street never leaving. So, we would ride our bikes up and down the block. Part way down the block there was this house with a very green yard always perfectly cut. Riding by feeling the wind in my face, I would always grip hard making my hands turn white and began to shake as I rode by this house. The old man was always sitting in front on his porch in a folded lawn chair. There was a lot about this old man that would make a little kid be afraid. He had huge knuckles from arthritis and longer fingernails than I had seen on most men. He wore a frown like a Halloween mask that seemed to never change. Hit snow white hair was short and seemed to be as icy as his heart.
One day i was riding down the sidewalk and didn't see a stick. I hit the stick solidly and was sent off course. As I pushed my feet back to brake my tires skidded on the sidewalk. My front tire went off the edge into this mans yard. My chain popped off and I flipped forward into his soft grass leaving the indent of my little body and a gaping hole from my bike pedal. When I realized I was in his yard my little body went into fear. I looked up and didn't see the man sitting there on the front porch like I had grown so accustomed to seeing. My momentary sigh of relief was shattered as big cold hands wrapped around my chest and arm. I could have sworn that my heart actually stopped. It wasn't long before I was lifted to my feet. I turned slowly and saw this old man with a frown on his face. He looked down at his perfect grass now broken. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes while waiting for him to yell at me or do something to me that my little imagination had so often done. Would he carry me to his basement and chain me to the wall? Would he yell at me and make me work as a slave to fix his property? Would he call the police? Would he walk me to my house and yell at my parents for letting their little boy destroy his yard. He had yelled at me before for accidentally riding through his yard. I fought back the tears and looked down to afraid to look into his eyes.
He let go of my arm and picked up my bike. I stood there when he said "come on." I walked up to his driveway. He opened his garage door and pulled a stool and a chair out. "Sit down." He turned my bike over and put the chain back on for me. Then grabbed a tool and tightened the chain. He told me I should pay more attention or I could get hurt.
I told him I was sorry for ruining his grass. He told me that while he worked very hard on the grass and loved to cut it and keep it green, it wasn't near as important as me being safe. I looked over at me and smiled. I had never seen him do this before and was in shock. I could almost hear his face screech as it moved from the frown and into a smile. As any little boy my mouth opened and words came out before my brain could stop them. "Why are you always so grumpy?" Uh oh! He looked at me and told me he wasn't grumpy, just lonely. He told me he lost his wife just before we moved in, and all the laughter was a reminder of the happiness he had before his wife died. We didn't live there real long, but after that every day I would sit with the old man and talk with him while having a glass of tea. He told me all kinds of stories.
I don't remember the old mans name and I remember more his Knuckles than anything else. But, this got me to thinking about my life. I ran into some people who seem to be unhappy more than they are happy. What is their problem? Life isn't that bad. Well, how do I know what they have gone through? Maybe they got some bad news, maybe they lost the love of their life... I'm not saying we are justified to be grumpy. I am not even saying we don't have reason to be unhappy from time to time. What I am saying is that, there is a reason why people act the way they do. Allowing our hearts to grow cold and push people away only means one sure thing. Continued loneliness!
Today I hope and pray that if you are warm and happy you can look past the cold heart and grumpiness of others. Let your warmth warm them!
Merry Christmas,
Mike III AkA: Big Daddy
No comments:
Post a Comment