There once was a little boy who wanted to
meet
God. He knew it was a long trip to where
God
lived, so he packed his suitcase with
Twinkies
and a six-pack of root beer, and he
started his
journey.
When he had gone about three blocks,
he met an old man. He was sitting in the
park
just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat
down
next to him and opened his suitcase. He
was
about to take a drink from his root beer
when he
noticed that the old man looked hungry so
he
offered him a Twinkie. He gratefully
accepted it
and smiled at him. His smile was so
incredible
that the boy wanted to see it again, so
he offered
him a root beer. Once again, he smiled at
him.
The boy was delighted! They sat there all
afternoon eating and smiling, but they
never said
a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized
how
tired he was and he got up to leave, but
before he
had gone more than a few steps; he turned
around,
ran back to the old man, and gave him a
hug. The
old man gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own
house a short
time later, his mother was surprised by
the look of
joy on his face. She asked him,
"What did you do
today that made you so happy?" He
replied, "I had
lunch with God." But before his
mother could
respond, he added, "You know what?
He's got the
most beautiful smile I've ever
seen!"
Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with
joy,
returned to his home. His son was stunned by
the look of peace on his face and he
asked,
"Father, what did you do today that
made you
so happy?"
He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the
park with God." But before his son
responded, he
added, "You know, he's much younger
than I
expected."
Too often we underestimate the power of a
touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening
ear, an honest
compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which
have the potential to turn a life around.
People come
into our lives for a
reason, a season, or a lifetime.
