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A New Day |
| Written by Matthew Daniel Carter | |
| Thursday, 26 June 2008 | |
As I was driving home, I pulled off the interstate and coasted down the off-ramp. I was almost home. With my mind still humming from the sounds of worklife, I longed for the comfortable couch that awaited my arrival. My tired bones screamed for rest! I stopped at the traffic light and casually glanced out the window. Standing at the end of the off-ramp was a homeless man with a cardboard sign. Usually I would have turned my head in disgust, but the message on the sign caught my attention. The message wasn't the usual plea for help, like: Will Work For Food, or, Vet Spare Some Change? No, it wasn't any of the usual messages I was accustomed to seeing. This sign read, Don't Feel Bad For Me-Look At My Face-I'm Smiling! And sure enough, when I looked at that man's dirty face, I noticed a smile within a thick, disheveled beard. The rest of the drive home I had that odd smile on my mind. The following week I stopped at the same traffic light after another hard day at work. Again, I noticed that man standing in the same place as before. However, on this occasion he was carrying a different message. This one read, In Hard Times I Am Here, Smiling. And once again, a beaming smile projected out of that thick beard. For some reason that strange smile would stay with me the rest of the drive home. I couldn't understand how this man, in his circumstance, could find happiness. How could he smile knowing he was homeless? Was he insane? Or maybe off his medication? His situation triggered unsettling questions within me, like; How can you be so dissatisfied with work, knowing that your income provides you with a comfortable home and enough food in the refrigerator to feed twenty people? Each week that passed the homeless man had a different message for the busy passerby's to read. Some of the most unforgettable messeges I had noticed were: If You're Going Somewhere, Go With A Smile!; That Enemy Of Yours, Smile At Him!; Is It Raining In Your Life? Just Smile And You'll Bring Out The Sun! One hot evening, after an early day of work, I became overwhelmed with curiosity. I had to know where this homeless man lived. Spying from a nearby convenient store, I waited for darkness to fall. I watched as the man lowered his sign, looked up to the sky, nodded his head, mumbled something to the stars, then walked away. He didn't walk far. His home was a cramped corner beneath an overpass. So, I whispered, this is where he lives. How could he possibly keep a smile every day while living there? Weeks later I noticed a change. While idling at the traffic light I could see that the homeless man's smile was brighter than before. The cardboard sign he was carrying read, I'll Be Going Home Soon! And I'm Going With A Smile! I really had the desire to ask him where he was going, but I didn't have the courage. Days passed and I didn't see him. Maybe he did go home, I thought. I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, yet I do now, I missed him. I missed that smile. I missed those messages. One evening I noticed lights from an ambulance flashing from beneath the overpass. A police cruiser was just pulling away. I parked at the convenient store where I had spied on the homeless man and watched as the EMT's wheeled a gurney into the back of the ambulance. I knew who was on that gurney. As a knot formed in my throat and tears welled in my eyes, I wondered why I was getting so emotional. I mean, it wasn't like this man was a relative or close friend. When the ambulance left the scene I got out of my car and walked to the overpass. I didn't know what I expected to find, in fact, I didn't know why I was so curious. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that I NEEDED to be there. To see what? Well, what I did see changed my life from that day forward. The homeless man kept his small living area tidy and organized. A stack of cardboard stood at the foot of a blanket which was layed neatly on the ground. An old pillow was placed at the head of the blanket so I assumed the blanket was his bed. Old newspapers and a black garbage bag filled with cans were positioned behind the pillow. So what was the amazement? An old, worn bible sitting next to a few magic markers and a scripture text written on the wall beside the bed. John 16:20-22, "You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be sorrowfull, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy. A woman when she is in labor has sorrow, because her hour of pain has come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers the pain no more because of the joy that she has brought a son into the world. And you now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man will ever take from you." When I returned to my car I sat for a few minutes to meditate on what I had seen. Holding the old, worn bible to my chest, I felt relieved, as if a huge burden were lifted off my shoulders. I gazed through the windshield, and with my eyes fixed on the heavens, I nodded my head and mumbled something. I imagine they were the same words the homeless man spoke when he raised his eyes to the heavens; "Thanks. Thanks for everything." I drove home that night a changed person. I had a new life, and made a deeper commitment to faith. It took a little longer than usual to arrive at my destination, but I had time to think about my life, to think about my death, to think about Jesus. Yes, I must admit, I did change that night. On the way home it began to pour down rain. I smiled. Copyright 2008 Matthew Daniel Carter |
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