Be Positive

The other day we were coming home from our favorite taco place and I had brought new socks, a McDonalds gift card and card with shelter information.  As we went over to his bench, my husband and I looked puzzled as we did not see the smiling elderly man we were expecting.  We were disappointed.  I said where's ---- (the man shares his name with my son)?  A homeless man, James perked up and said, "oh, he was hit by a truck last Tuesday."  Well, my husband and I were shocked and were hoping our son would have no idea what that meant.  We talked briefly to James and apparently he was told his friend had left the hospital, but he had yet to return to his bench.  A mystery.  We told James our mutual friend was in our prayers and we gave him the socks and items and left for home.  We try to pray by name for the homeless we meet every night, to remember their names as we know God does.  We prayed for the man that night as we always had.

A couple nights later I got home and my son was playing with his sports action figures.  He was saying "the groundskeeper can't go to the game because he was hit by a car".  My husband and I looked at each other shocked.  I told my son getting hit by a car or truck was not a joke.  He understood.  "Did you say that because what we found out about our friend the other night?"  He shook his head yes- we told him that it was serious and that is why we still prayed for the man every night.  He looked at my husband and I with utter confidence and said, "I know he's all right", as if he had seen him himself.  My husband and I looked at each other and acknowledged that he may very well know more then we do.  Funny thing was, the reading I had listened to was something along the lines of, "out of the mouths of babes..."

On a lighter note.... the other night my son was being petulant and well, kind of bratty.  I told him I was disappointed in how he was behaving at the dinner table.  Without missing a beat, he replied, "be positive Mommy, be positive."  Well, it's hard not to crack a smile when your three year old tells you to "Be Positive".