As I was waiting for the GoBus last week
in Franklin; I sat in the Buffalo Street
Gazebo enjoying the warm sunny weather
that we all have waited so long for.
As I listened to the others talking while
we waited for the Bus to arrive, I watched
across the street as this old man come
walking out of the ally from Liberty street
next to the house where the Pastor of the
Methodist Church across the street lived.
The old man walked around to the front
steps of the Pastors house and sat down on
the top step as calmly as if he himself
lived there.
Admittedly; at first I did think he must
live there until I observed the reactions
of the lady's of the house upon noticing him
sitting there.
The front door of the house was open due to
the warm weather, and I watched as one of
the women in the house come down the stairs
inside and looked at the man as if to say who
is that and why is he sitting on our steps.
She went into the other room not taking her
eyes off the old fellow and must have said
something to the other women in the house as
one of the other women come out of the room
stuck her head around the corner and out the
door to see, then she looked into the other
room and the third woman come to the door and
looked out.
She stood there and looked for a second, then
turned and went back into the house.
I thought she was going to advise the pastor
of this stranger sitting on their steps as
though he owned the place; but a second later
she come back out the door and walked right
over to the man.
I though she was going to do what I have seen
so many others do nowadays and ask him why he
was sitting there or maybe tell him to go sit
on one of the public benches across the street.
But she did something else, something totally
unexpected by me and judging from his reaction;
by him as well.
She held out a bottle and ever so politely she
asked "Sir would you like some water".
My jaw hit the ground at about the same instant
his did.
He kind of jumped a little and said Huh.
and she asked again "Would you like some water".
He answered "No thanks mam; but do you mind I
just wanted to sit here and rest a minute".
Once again just as polite as if she were talking
to a small child she answered "Thats alright,
you just take as much time as you need" and
she turned and calmly walked back into the house
and went about her business.
After he sat and caught his breath and cooled
down a little, the man got up and crossed the
street to go to his apartment in the building
behind the Gazebo.
I replayed the incident in my mind a few times
and I thought about the recent news coverage of
the Westboro Baptist protests; and how people
tend for the most part to deal with them.
I Thought; would it not be nice if instead of
every time these protesters show up at a funeral,
Instead of shouting them down, blocking their
view, calling them names and getting just as mean
with them as they are with us.
Would it not be nice if we just did like Jesus
himself instructed and do good to those who do
evil or spitefulness to us.
When they say GOD is the enemy of America; Walk
over to them and hug them and say I Love you.
When they say thank GOD for dead soldiers, Tell
them as politely as the pastors wife did the
old man; Thank you for coming here and showing
the world my son did not die in vain because
you have the freedom to protest that he died to
protect for you.
If it is hot out side, take a lesson from the
pastors wife and do something that probably your
loved one you are mourning would do his or
herself, Grab some water or Juice and maybe even
a few sandwiches, go over to those protesters
and offer them to partake of your refreshments.
Even protesters get hungry and thirsty and
against a true showing of love, hate can not
prevail.
And I can think of no better way to honor your
loved one whom you mourn than to offer the love
and freedom that he/she died to preserve to the
very ones who prove beyond a shadow of a doubt
that this Love and freedom still exists just by
exercising their freedom to protest.
It may hurt to see them protesting our funerals
but you can defeat their hatred with the
unconditional love that your loved ones showed
by giving their lives freely not just for us,
but for them as well.
Who knows; Maybe your showing of Love will turn
a couple of them from their hateful way and you
will be directly responsible for saving a few
souls from eternal suffering.
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