Carl was a quiet man.. He didn't talk
much.
> He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm
handshake.
>
> Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years,
> No one could really say they knew him very well.
>
> Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning.
> The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried
us.
>
> He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII.
>
> Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII,
> He may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its
ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.
>
> When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for
caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in
his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed
up.
>
> He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always
feared finally happened..
>
> He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang
members approached him.
> Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked,
> "Would you like a drink from the hose?"
>
> The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah,
sure," with a malevolent little smile.
>
> As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm,
throwing him down.
> As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in
its way, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and
then fled.
>
> Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad
leg.
> He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running
to help him.
>
> Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he
couldn't get there fast enough to stop it.
>
> "Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister kept
asking as he helped Carl to his feet.
>
> Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his
head.
> "Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up
someday."
>
> His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the
hose.
> He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water..
>
> Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl,
what are you doing?"
> "I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry
lately," came the calm reply.
> Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister
could only marvel.
> Carl was a man from a different time and place.
>
> A few weeks later the three returned.. Just as before their threat
was unchallenged.
> Carl again offered them a drink from his hose.
>
> This time they didn't rob him.
> They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot
in the icy water.
>
> When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off
down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another
laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.
>
> Carl just watched them.
> Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and
went on with his watering.
>
> The summer was quickly fading into fall Carl was doing some tilling
when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him.
> He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches.
>
> As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall
leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself
for the expected attack.
>
> "Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this
time."
> The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred
hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag
from his pocket and handed it to Carl.
>
> "What's this?"
> Carl asked. "It's your stuff," the man explained.
"It's your stuff back.
> Even the money in your wallet" "I don't understand,"
Carl said. "Why would you help me now?"
>
> The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease.
"I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that
gang and hurt people like you we picked you because you were old and we
knew we could do it But every time we came and did something to you, instead
of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't
hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our
hate."
>
> He stopped for a moment. "I couldn't sleep after we stole your
stuff, so here it is back."
>
> He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there
was to say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me
out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street.
>
> Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He
took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his
wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the
young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years
ago..
>
> He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people
attended his funeral in spite of the weather.
>
> In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't
know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.
>
> The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life.
> In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best
and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl
and his garden."
>
> The following spring another flyer went up. It read: "Person
needed to care for Carl's garden."
>
> The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when
a knock was heard at the minister's office door.
>
> Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed
hands holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have
me," the young man said.
> The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned
the stolen watch and wallet to Carl.
>
> He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around. As
the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, "Yes,
go take care of Carl's garden and honor him."
>
> The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the
flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done.
>
> During that time, he went to college, got married, and became a
prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to
Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would
have kept it.
>
> One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't
care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile,
"My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home
on Saturday."
>
> "Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was
handed the garden shed keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby's
name?"
> "Carl," he replied.
>
> That's the whole gospel message simply stated.
> Take 60 seconds give this a shot! Let's just see if Satan stops this
one.
> All you do is:
>
> 1. Simply say a small prayer for the person who sent you this.
>
> God bless this person in whatever it is that You know he or she may
be needing this day!
>
> 2. Then send it on to five other people. Within hours five people
have prayed for you, and you caused a multitude of people to pray to God
for other people.
>
> Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life for doing
the thing that you know He loves.
>
> GOOD FRIENDS
> ARE LIKE ANGELS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE THEM TO KNOW THEY ARE
THERE
> Okay, I know I sent this to more than five people, but I knew God
wanted to bless all of you.
|
2 comments:
Rush - The Garden (Live) 2012 MHT - YouTubewww.youtube.com/watch?v=gupQJ_-4HRY
sums up the message here..
Yes God does move in misterious ways. He always has and never the way we exoect him to. God is the equalizer for those who believe and trust.. Like the beatitudes Jesus spoke.in the book of Matthew. A time for all things.
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