Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Body Language (11/25/10)
-
TITLE: People on the Other Side of the Ladle | Previous Challenge Entry
By Dana McReynolds
12/02/10 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Long days with nothin’ to do give a man two choices, to tune out the world or try to learn somethin’ from it. Me, I’m a people watcher. I figure if I can’t watch tv, then I got the next best thing, maybe even better. Sit me on a bus and I can just about tell you where a person’s goin’ and I can for sure tell you if they’re enoyin’ the ride.
I’ve ate fish with the Catholics and chicken with the Baptists. It don’t matter what they put on the plate, they all got one thing in common, they really don’t want to be there. Oh, I’m sure most have good intentions, but that don’t mean they’re comfortable. Most times, they’ll glance up and give a nervous smile, then act all busy with the food. I guess rearrangin’ some sandwiches and stirrin’ some chili is a good distraction from a homeless man.
Tonight was a different story. I sat down with my plate and a man asked if he could join me. I was leary at first, he was from the church and I was expectin’ a sermon. But I couldn’t say no, I was eatin’ their food after all. Turned out I was in for a surprise. We ate our food and talked and I believe he was really listenin’. He couldn’t a been more at ease if he’d been at his own dinner table. And the funny thing is I think it rubbed off on me. For a minute I felt like a teenager again, kicked back at the diner with my buddies.
I left that church with more than a full belly. It felt good, real good.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
A number of years ago I headed up a church based soup kitchen in the Manchester area. Once my wife and I spent a night on the streets in the company of a homeless man we were working with. It was a fantastic insight to be on the other side of the food line, something that your story captures very well indeed.
Strong message.