Monday, November 29, 2010

interesting encounter or God Encounter?

I don't really think this encounter would have happened had there not been a mouse in the house. A tiny mouse was caught in the mouse trap in the furnace room. I was really scared to even look at it, for some reason. Really so odd because I used to work with mice in the lab. But those were alive, and when we put them down, we put them down humanely. After the Grey Cup game and after my company left, I finally got the courage to look at the dead mouse, then clean it up. I figured it was better for the dead mouse to freeze outside than sit in my garbage and right now, there's new snow outside so getting to the garbage can outside would be difficult so I set it outside the door. I then decided to do some cleaning in my kitchen cupboards - face the potential other dead mice or the evidence of their visits. I ended up throwing out a bunch of dried food because it (or they?) had gotten into my lentils (red and green) and some dried egg noodles. I found some containers to put the remaining food that wasn't already in plastic containers and I wiped everything down. There were so many droppings on one of my shelves. The mouse must really love dried lentils, especially the green ones! It was obviously taking them back somewhere. I set up a new trap - one that doesn't require touching the mouse or seeing it dead. Anyway, after doing all the cleaning and collecting any possible food-like smelling garbage, I collected it and carried it outside. This was about 1 am.

This brings me to my encounter. See, I generally wouldn't be standing outside on the front step at 1 am. I had been struggling with some stuff this week regarding getting to my car and also getting back to the house. When the plow came through to clean the street, it left a mound of hard ice / snow next to my car as well as in front and behind the car. I almost got stuck. I got really frustrated when I had to take my wheelchair in one day because I had purchased some things and I didn't have anyone I could ask to help me carry my purchases in. I also had this garbage that I really didn't feel good about leaving just outside the house. I didn't want to attract any other pests or cats or animals that would rip it apart. So, standing there on the step, I see this man walking down the sidewalk, pulling a suitcase. This is the man I've always figured was homeless. I still think he might be. He was talking with a bit of a slur and I wondered whether he was drunk or high or whether he had a brain injury or something else going on that affected his ability to speak clearly. He asked if I'd like him to shovel the walk. I asked him if he'd come back and ask me tomorrow. Somehow, though, he seemed to be a man that honestly wanted to do some work - earn a bit of money. Yes, I know he heads to the 'drug house' as I call it whenever I've seen him in the past. I've also seen him weaving his way across the actual street instead of the sidewalk. Today, I felt like this was an answer to prayer. He told me he lives 2 doors down. Maybe he does, or maybe he just goes there a lot. It isn't typical for people who live somewhere to always be dragging a suitcase around or carrying a backpack and/or a sleeping bag. Nevertheless, I needed someone to shovel around my car and I needed someone to carry the garbage somewhere else and it felt like this was God's answer to my needs. I first asked him if he had a garbage bin outside at his house that he could toss my garbage into. He gladly took the garbage and came back with a shovel. We had a conversation while he was shoveling. He's been through some hard times. He talked about losing his job. It seemed like he just needed a friendly face and someone who would talk with him. I had a $20 bill in my wallet so I decided to give him $20 for his work. I don't know if that's a lot or a little. He almost cried when I gave him the $20. I could see the tears in his eyes. I think this interesting encounter was also a God Encounter. Maybe this was an answer to both our needs. I didn't voice a prayer asking for someone to come along and take the garbage away or shovel the area by my car. And, maybe he didn't pray that I would hire him to shovel my walk. Still, I believe this was a divine encounter that met both our needs.

5 comments:

Ty said...

Or possibly the prayer was one neither of you was ready to vocalize, but God heard the resonance in both your souls for these tiny acts of compassion.

Anonymous said...

Or possibly the prayer was one neither of you was ready to vocalize, but God heard the resonance in both your souls for these tiny acts of compassion.

Prairie Rose Memories said...

Stories like this give me goose bumps, Patti! I certainly believe it was a God thing!! He knows what we all need even better than we do.

patti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
patti said...

I agree, Ty. You put that into words better than I could. I was thinking something similar. Thanks for the comments Ty and Debbie.