Lifting the Bitter Cup
Having found great joy in giving I gave.
$25,000.00 anonymously shared.
What poor soul would this bequest save?
Who would thank God that someone cared?
I prayed for an answer and the wisdom to know.
To whom in the world should generosity flow?
Someone with wisdom to make kindness grow…
One poor visionary could multiply heaven’s glow.
I went to a park and looked around.
Folk’s laughter and love did there abound.
Children scampered with energy unbound.
It was there that my recipient was soon found.
A distant figure in the dark of shade,
One hungry man through the garbage waylaid.
Huddled in a coat with a dingy facade.
I slipped him a note with my message relayed.
Meet me in the morning at about sunrise.
You have found God’s favor; I have your surprise.
That the re-meeting was important I did realize.
The test: dependability and lucidness to surmise.
I went there at dawn and sat on a bench.
The bag full of money held tight in my clench.
My stomach was churning, my fingers did wrench.
I had thought that this giving would be a cinch.
Shortly I saw him walk across the lawn.
Curiosity and hope shone brightly upon his face.
What, I wondered, would experience spawn?
We sat there and talked about life, way past dawn.
He shared his dream and I gave him the bag.
Trusting that God would stay by his side.
One year later, he stood on a crag.
Praising his Lord for His constant abide.
Twenty-five thousand had increased a hundred fold.
Having lost everything that he had since birth,
He had learned a hard lesson when he had no gold.
So, he set out on a mission to heal man on earth.
Unselfish acts and the insight to invest
Led him down a path to wisdom and success.
He passed love forward filling each bitter cup.
Along his way, he, too, lifted others up.
© January 16, 2011
Dane Smith-Johnsen
Fictional Written for Carol Brown's Contest: I Helped the Needy
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