I am fascinated when I imagine the many people who must have come into Jesus' world and had no idea who he was. They went about their ordinary lives having no idea that their path had crossed with the Savior of the World. These people come alive in my imagination. Meet one today.
A BALL OF KINDNESS
By Sue Holbrook
Amos pulled the
heavy wooden box out of the corner.
Placing it
beside his chair, he fumbled to open it with his aged
fingers. Life
would not be much longer
for him. In fact, he had already lived
longer than the other men in his family.
He knew it was time to show
his daughter, Lydia, the few things he
valued that he had saved
through the years.
Just so she would know why he had cherished
these things. He wanted her to pass on the stories to her
children.
As he slowly
picked up each item, he felt it, turned it in his hands and told her his
stories. She faced him and sat close,
her knees touching his. He was so dear
and so kind. He was the beloved
patriarch and she knew her days with him were numbered. His voice had grown weak with his age and she
leaned forward to hear everything he said.
Some of the items and stories she knew from such conversations in the
past. Today, he was determined to get to
the bottom of the box.
Finally, he drew
out the last memento. It was very old…a
leather ball filled with bran…just the size that would fit a little boy’s
hand. The leather was smooth with age.
“This is the best
thing of all,” he said softly. “My older
brother, Joel, was learning the trade of tanning and he made this ball for
me. I remember a happy day, right after
he finished it and gave it to me. My
friends and I were playing in the street in front of the house. We tossed the ball back and forth around our
circle. While we were playing, some men
came down the road. We had never seen
them before. They said they were passing
through on their way to Jerusalem. Papa
gave them water to drink and while they were drinking and thanking him for his hospitality,
they saw my nice new ball. Soon they had
joined in our circle and were playing catch with us. We were all laughing. But one man…he seemed to be their leader…he
had the nicest smile and he laughed more than anybody. I still remember his face. When finally it was time for them to travel
on, he was holding my ball. He brought
it to me and scooped me up in his arms.
He tickled me and made me laugh.
Then he hugged me and told me God loved me and to always honor my mother
and father. He did the same to my
friends. I don’t know who he was, but I
have never forgotten his smile. I don’t
know why he was so special but he made me feel like he really loved me. He was just so kind.”
“And so,” Amos
said, “this ball has always reminded me of love and kindness. First of all, my brother loved me enough to
make it for me. He’s been gone a long
time now and I miss him very much. But
also because the kind man played ball with me and made me feel special. Always keep this ball in a safe place,
Lydia. It means so much to me.”
“I will, Papa,”
she answered. Her eyes glistened with
tears as she took the ball from his hands and put it back in its place at the
bottom of the box. She would show her
children when they were old enough to appreciate the significance of something
that had meant so much to their grandfather.
She replaced everything in the box and pushed it back to its home in the
corner.
Her father sat
quietly, eyes closed and head resting on the high back of his chair, a slight
smile on his lips. She knew he was back
there, so many years ago, a little boy playing ball with a kind stranger in the
road in front of his house.