IMPORTANT LESSONS LEARNED

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Permalink Reply by Bertie Williams on October 11, 2009 at 7:43pm

I don't know if this is where I am to write my story or not, but here it is. I was very poor growing up in the South Bronx in New York City. Often times we had little or no food to eat. As we became older and I stopped school to go to work, things got a little better. When I was sixteen, one day my brother and I were in our kitchen cooking some lunch. My brother is five years my junior, and at the time of which I speak very young, so he must be forgiven his ignorance. While we waited for our lunch to be prepared a knock came to the door. I opened it and standing there was a man. He politely asked me if I could give him something to eat. I told the man to wait and he nodded his head. I returned to the kitchen and began to prepare a sandwich and a cup of coffee. My brother asked me what I was doing as our meal was just about ready. I told him that a man had come asking for food. He told me not to feed him because he would certainly return every day. I told my brother that I would feed him nonetheless.
I brought the man the sandwich and hot coffee and left him out there to eat. After we had our lunch I checked to see about the man and when I opened the door I saw my empty cup sitting on the next landing and the man no where to be found.
The man never returned to our door despite my brother's warning. Some days later I told our parish priest about the incident. He took me to the rectory and opened up the Bible. He turned to a passage wherein Abraham entertained angels unknown to him and he was blessed for it.
I was never an overly religious person and still am not to this day. However, I believe that this man was an angel sent from above to test my heart, and this is the reason why I believe it. There have been times in my life that I have been dead broke with two or three kids to care for and at those times food has always been provided sometimes as if by magic.
I believe that those who give truly of the heart will have those gifts set aside for persons who love peace and plenty in the world and want to share all the good things with all people. I believe I was truly blessed at that time; a blessing that will follow me for the rest of my life and all it cost me was a sandwich and a cup of coffee