I am going to make you smile

Last night we were out on the soup run. Our church goes out twice every four weeks as part of the Soup Run Trust in Bristol, which send people out every night of the year.  We are very lucky in our parish and we have a group of over 80 people who help by making sandwiches, soup, tea, coffee, rolls, cakes, and hot food. People also contribute things like candles, soap, shampoo, razors, tissues, tooth brushes, under ware, clothes, blankets. Everything we need in fact to make our soup run quite special for the homeless people we meet. But sometimes, on often, they make our soup run particularly special. Last night right at the end of the evening when when had given out all that we had two men turned up late and asked for food. We apologies and gave them some tea, but as we were doing this one of the homeless men we had already served went into his bag and handover a couple of rolls he had been saving for later. This generosity of people who have nothing always amazes me. 

The following thought was written a couple of years ago after I heard this heart touching story while out on the soup run. Enjoy.

I am going to make you smile

I am going to give you a present; I am going to make you smile. I am going to tell you a story that will lift your heart, whenever you remember it or tell it.

You may remember that it rained a lot last summer. A homeless man, Brian, was sitting next to a cash point, hoping to get a few pounds to buy a night in a shelter out of the rain. Sometimes the rain makes people more generous, sometimes it’s so wet they don’t even notice and this day was turning into a ‘not being noticed day’. Around 10 in the morning, a lady walked by in a hurry. Brian asked if she could spare any change and she slowed and apologised that she didn’t have any. Then she stopped and looked at Brian and said, “Could you do me a favour, I am always losing my umbrella at work. Could you look after it for me until about 4 this afternoon when I finish work. I’ll come back for it on my way home.” Brian couldn’t believe is luck and willingly agreed. He spent the day a little drier and when it stopped raining around 4 o’clock he was still sat by the cash point. Shortly after 4 the lady returned, she gave Brian a little money and chatted to him for a few minutes. When Brian returned the umbrella she said, “I am not going to lose this umbrella now, it has a special memory attached to it. Thank you.”
Brian told me this story about a week after it happened; he had made a few pounds, stayed dry for a day and had chatted with someone who cared. But he had also been amazed by this lady, and was telling everyone the story. In one moment, she changed his day, but the way she did it touched his heart, and his story touched mine and I hope yours too. Please feel free to give this story to anyone who needs to smile, and just think for a minute about how much good one amazing moment can bring.