Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Childhood (09/03/09)
-
TITLE: The Lesson of Kindness | Previous Challenge Entry
By
09/08/09 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
After some time of admiring the view, we got back into the elevator and made our way down to the shopping mall and food court located below the Twin Towers. As we walked from store to store, I began to notice something that for a little girl seemed a bit unusual. Lining the walls of the underground mall were countless individuals dressed in the dirtiest clothes I had ever seen. Some were sound asleep on the cold marble floor while others just stared into space, lost in their own world. Pulling on my daddy’s arm I asked him who they were. He took my hand in his own and as we continued to walk, he said, “They are homeless sweetheart.” I stared again at the people lining the walls and began to feel very sad. I couldn’t imagine anyone not having a home of their own and a warm bed to crawl into at night. It was too much for a little girl to comprehend, so I looked away.
Soon after, we arrived at the food court where my parents ordered our meal and we sat down as a family to eat. We laughed together, enjoying a delicious lunch topped off by our very own ice cream cone. In that moment, my eyes were drawn to the trash bins that were over on the side of the restaurant. Standing there was a little boy, not much older than my little brother. He watched me as I ate my ice cream and suddenly, I began to feel sick inside. Next to him, digging through the trash, was a young woman who must have been his mother. Finding a half eaten hamburger, she handed it to the little boy and he began to greedily eat. He was so hungry! I felt a tear slip out of the corner of my eye and my stomach twisted into an emotion that was difficult for me to explain. Seeing my stricken face, my mother looked in the direction I was looking and her eyes became very sad. I didn’t want my ice cream anymore. In fact, I couldn’t imagine how anyone in the restaurant could enjoy their meal when a little boy with big eyes was standing there with his mother, digging through trash, eating our leftovers. We lived in America didn’t we? The very building we were visiting was supposed to represent the prosperity of our nation. Yet, how could such poverty exist. At the time, I wasn’t able to express all of these thoughts but I felt them and I hurt for that little boy.
Seeing my distress, daddy squeezed my arm and silently walked over to the register. I wondered what he was doing until I saw that he had purchased another ice cream cone. Walking over to the little boy, he bent down to his level and offered the treat. The little boy smiled from ear to ear and the small mother quietly offered her thanks. It was a small gesture of kindness, but it taught me a lesson as a child that I have never forgotten.
All of the sadness, poverty, and pain in the world can be forgotten for a moment when a sincere heart offers an act of kindness.
Today, I often wonder about that little boy. Did he ever have a home of his own? Did he go to college? Did he see the Twin Towers fall in 2001? Was he there when they fell? Other times I wonder if he remembers the small kindness my daddy showed him that day so many years ago.
He may not remember, but I will never forget!
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
What narrative voice you have. I know I heard it somewhere in last weeks challenge.
I don't mind loosing to this thought provoking writ.
Blessings.