November 10, 2005
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We had an appointment for the pest control service to come give us our quarterly spray job today and I almost canceled it, but then decided to go ahead with the job. At the appointed time a young man . . . about 25 . . . came to do the work, and I couldn't help noticing that he reeked of cigarettes, so I said to him, "You DO know that those cigarettes will kill you some day, don't you?" He sheepishly said, that yes, he did realize that, so I said, "So what could we do about that?" To which he answered, that he should really quit smoking. I told him I thought that was an excellent idea, and that I was sure glad he thought of it. Then he politely excused himself to begin the bug spraying process. About 20 minutes later when he finished he returned to collect the fee and said, "My condolences for your loss". I asked him how he knew I had lost someone, and he said he had noticed all the potted plants out in the back yard and all the pictures of flower arrangements on the dining room table waiting to have thank you notes written. He said that his wife had died of leukemia in May of 2004 and that he had a 4 1/2 year old daughter to take care of.
I'm not sure what it did to his schedule, but we spent the next 20 minutes consoling each other, and I told him I'd pray for him to have the strength to quit smoking so he could live long enough to take care of and enjoy that daughter of his and someday her children.
My son calls that "God prepositioning his assets".
Comments (10)
Oh, Chris... that brought tears to my eyes. Let's hope that your encounter with that young man has a profound effect on his life and give him more years with his daughter.
I forgot to mention how much I love that photo. :goodjob:
"God works in mysterious ways" I'm constantly telling some of my co workers how happy I am that I quit. Most of them are a little sick of hearing just how happy I am.
Chris that is so like you to reach out to help someone. :goodjob::goodjob::goodjob::heartbeat::heartbeat::heartbeat::heartbeat:Mom
Was thinking of you so dropped by to see how you were doing. Your post revealed so much. You're a dear woman.
Perhaps God sent that young man to do the job for this very reason. I do hope he takes heed. Bless you for gentle persuasion.
This is so touching. God does work in mysterious ways. I hope that you were able to help each other. :heartbeat:
What a beautiful story thanks for sharing it with us. I'll pray for him to quit so he will be around for his daughter in the years ahead. HUGS
You reaching out to another hurting person is so encouraging to me. I'm so glad you got to help God out like that. I know you've been blessed, too.
Such a blessing you are.
Mike
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