| An
Afternoon in the Park
There once was a little boy
who wanted to meet God. He knew it was long trip to where God lived, so
he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and he
started his
journey.
When he had gone about three
blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at
some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He
was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old
lady looked hungry, so he offered a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it
and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it
again, so he offered a root beer. Once again she smiled at him. The boy
was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon
eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy
realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone
more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and
gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door
to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look
of joy on his face.
She asked him, "What did
you do today that made you so happy?"
He replied, "I had lunch
with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what?
She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile, the old woman,
also radiant with joy, returned to her home.
Her son was stunned by the
look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today
that made you so happy?"
She replied, "I ate Twinkies
in the park with God." But before her son responded, she added, "You know,
he's much younger than I expected."
By
Julie A. Manhan
from
A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
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