On the Road to Providence: An Unexpected Blessing
December 8, 2008
The morning had been cold with a light drizzle. I had been walking through the Boston Common on my way to the Unitarian Universalist Association headquarters. Halfway up the path I needed to stop and rest for moment. Sitting on a park bench, I set down my nearly empty cup of coffee, drew my hood tighter and rested my forehead on my cane. A few moments later I sensed someone approaching, however before I could look up she walked away. It was then that I realized this stranger had dropped three quarters into my almost-empty coffee cup.
When I told my wife this story her initial reaction was, “What were you wearing!”
When I told this to some of my colleagues, some reacted with slight anger, “Why would someone assume that a Latino sitting in on a park bench was a beggar?!” However, most just laughed seeing the humor in the situation.
Admittedly my initial reactions were mixed. First I was slightly upset that my last gulp of coffee was ruined. Secondly I wondered where the stranger thought I could purchase another medium coffee for 75 cents. Then I, too, was shocked that she thought I was a beggar.
All those thoughts flashed through almost simultaneously. However, I suddenly realized what she had seen and what had motivated her. No doubt she, too, was cold and hurrying that morning. Suddenly the sight of someone slumped over a cane on a park bench with his hood drawn tight and a cup sitting next to them had jarred her out of her complacency. For a moment her heart compelled her to do something for someone whom she perceived as being less fortunate. She found some change and left it for this stranger not as a great monetary windfall but as a simple act that said, “I see you; I hope this helps a little; you are not alone.”
As the stranger walked away, I looked at the three quarters in the dregs of my coffee and called out to her, “Thank you.”
This holiday season may you take a moment from your hurriedness, connect to others around you and be an unexpected blessing to someone.
~Rev. Josè Ballester
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