In one of stormy days of 1986, I was on my way to school where I was a faculty member in the College of Dentistry, when I saw something I’d never seen before. Lying on the sidewalk against a building in four inches of cold muddy water by the drainage was a man sleeping with only a cardboard blanket to keep him from being completely exposed to the freezing cold. What really broke my heart was when I realized that he wore no shoes or socks. I thought to stop and help him but was not quite sure what to do. As the traffic light turned green, it seemed life was demanding that I move along. So I did. Back in the "anything I wanted was mine" environment, I promptly forgot about the man on the street. Several days later, prior to my scheduled classes, I was having coffee and donut in one of the coffee shops. All of the "important" people had left and it was just me and the janitor remaining. I had seen him quietly go about his business every day while I was there, and he never said a word except "Good morning" or "Can I get anything for you, maam?" He always had a smile to give to everyone. When I asked him how he was feeling today, he told me that he’d been having to ride his bike to work in that muddy flood and that he’d been feeling rather sorry for himself. . .that is, until he saw a man sleeping down on the corner of San Rafael Street with just a piece of cardboard for covering from the cold and no shoes. I almost choked on my Donut as I heard him go on to relate how he was so moved with compassion for the man that he went around the corner to a store and bought the man a pair of socks and shoes. As I heard his story, I saw in my mind a poster that used to be in an old friends bedroom when I was a teenager. It was a picture of a child handing someone a flower and the caption read: "The smallest deed always exceeds the grandest of intentions." I stood there wishing it was me who had bought the shoes and socks for the man, when I finished my coffee and headed for school. As I got into the faculty room, everybody was rushing to go to their respective classes, except one faculty who was just idle sitting in one corner and asked me to listen to his story. He relayed a story about Mother Teresa, who when asked once how she had accomplished such great things in her life responded, "None of us can do anything great on our own, but we can all do a small thing with great love." When I went home that day, I looked for the man on the street. He was gone, but I knew it wouldn't be long before someone took his place.
I hope my personal story will enlighten you as well…God bless and wish you all the best.
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