Joy

 

            The clouds created a beautiful layer of contrast to the mountain peaks that they surrounded, hovered over by a glorious blue sky and the glowing orange orb of sun. The three ancient men walked in unison on the highest peak scanning over the horizon, making note of the hundreds of golden threads that reached from the blue sky through the clouds and onto the same number of individuals at ground level.

              The eldest among them called for the attention of the other two, pointing into the distance as a new golden thread appeared, puncturing through the clouds. “Gentlemen, we have a new arrival of one of the special ones. We will give them a few years to mature before we visit them with their instructions.”

              “Oh, thank goodness, we can always use more special people among these savages that live on the ground below us,” one of them said. “From this angle, they seem to be living in eastern Europe. Oh, that reminds me that we still have yet to visit our latest addition from five years ago. I think he will be ready to begin his work.”

              In a single swift movement, the three men began their descent from the mountain top to enter the city wherein lived the previous addition to the special ones. “This will take us a great deal of time to walk to his home and find the right place and time to speak with him,” the other said. “I believe at this age he will be ready to begin. There is something extra special about this young man.”

              The three parted ways and took various routes to arrive at their destination. In an amazing synchronicity, they arrived at the edge of the city at the same time and began their short walk to the boy’s school. They arrived mere moments before the lunch bell rang and the youngest among them approached the little boy, introduced himself and spoke in short sentences with small words and a smile.

“Hello Wallace,” he said. “You have been chosen to take on a special responsibility with everyone you meet. You are one of the few people who have a good and kind heart, with these things you will be able to draw close to others, love them, encourage them, and help them move toward lives that are good and right.”

              He and the boy made eye contact, shook hands, and he confirmed that he would always be available to help him with this responsibility. All that Wallace needed to do was to ask for help and direction, if he was ever unsure about what to say or what to do. “All you need to do is to say, “please help me” and I will answer you.”

              Wallace smiled at the man, shook hands a second time, and returned to his classroom when the lunch bell rang a second time. He took his seat near the front of the room and was immediately approached by his teacher. “Good afternoon, Wallace,” he said, “do you know that man who was talking to you?”

              “No, I don’t,” he answered. “He said I have been given a special responsibility to love people, to be kind to people, and to help them do what is good and right.”

              “Well, if there was anyone who could do that job, it would be you,” the teacher said, looking into the eyes of the Down Syndrome child before him. “I know you will do a very good job with this responsibility. I encourage you to talk to your parents about what this man shared with you. I’m sure they can help you begin this responsibility that he gave you. I believe in you, Wallace.”

              The school day ended and Wallace waited in the classroom for his mother to pick him up for the day. When she arrived, he gave her a vigorous hug, took her hand and walked with her out to their car. He buckled himself into his seat and as they drove away, he began to tell his mother about the conversation he had with the man and with his teacher.

              “He was a very nice, man,” he said. “He gave the responsibility to love people, to be kind to people, and to help everyone I know to do what is good and right.”

              “That is an important responsibility,” his mother answered. “If anyone can do it, I know you can. And honestly, you already do that and always have. Your beautiful smiling face always brings joy to those with whom you interact. Please be careful when strangers speak to you. Let me know if you see this man again.”

              They arrived home and Wallace helped his mother prepare dinner for that evening. Two hours later, his father arrived home, and Wallace retold the story that he had told his mother.

              “I know you can do it, Wallace,” his father said. “Please be careful with anyone you speak to or spend time with. Sometimes people will seem nice, but they actually aren’t. Your mother and I will always be here for you and can help you if you have questions.”

              After dinner, Wallace cleared the table, put the leftover food into Tupperware containers, wiped off the table, and lay down on his bed to think about all that had been said to him on this day. The mystery man seemed very nice, his teacher was especially helpful, and his parent’s loved him deeply. All of this swirled about in his simple mind, stirring up ideas and plans about how to be helpful to those he knew.

              Because he had such a love for everyone and found great joy in doing the simplest of tasks, knowing that others found these things mundane and distracting, he made the decision to take on as many of these little things as he could. He decided to begin visiting with the elderly woman who lived next door, because he knew that she was alone most of the time and had no family to care for her.

              The joy welled up within him as he thought about the smiles and laughter he so often experienced when he interacted with friends and family. He was content with taking on the work that others did not want to do, knowing that the little bit he could contribute would be appreciated by those he loved and who loved him. As the years slowly crept by, he continued to increase the help he offered to those around him.

              On his twelfth birthday, the mystery man he met at lunch on that school day appeared at his door with a birthday present and very kind words that he was very pleased with the good, hard work that Wallace was doing. “You are doing a very good thing, Wallace,” he said. “The impact you are having on these people is far greater than you understand. Your kind words, your smiles, and your assistance to them is helping them move toward that which is good and right.”

              “Thank you, sir,” Wallace answered. “I wish I could do more.”

              “You are doing a very good job,” he said. “I wanted you to know that there are many other just like you all around the world who are doing the same work as you. I also wanted to share that your efforts and volume of work far surpasses all others with whom we interact."

              "Thank you, sir," Wallace said.

              "Continue on the path you are on,” he said. “Your goodness and kindness are helping so many people, and without you knowing it, you are training them to do the same with their own lives. You are a living example of love for one’s neighbor. I know your parents are very proud of you.”

              “Thank you, sir,” Wallace said.

              The little boy turned into a responsible adult, graduated from high school and started a job as a stock boy at the local grocery store, which gave him the opportunity to interact with so many more people. His boss gave him a raise every month for the great work he was doing, for his wonderful people skills, and shared with him that more customers than he could count praised him for being such a great person.”

              Wallace was restocking the soup aisle when he saw a young lady about his age, who looked a great deal like him, approach him with a question about where to find the boxes of potato flakes. He took her hand, smiled at her, introduced himself, and said, “You and I are a lot alike. The potato flakes are on aisle seven. Here, follow me, I can show you where they are.”

              “Thank you, Wallace,” she said.

              “What is your name,” he asked. “Can I have your phone number? I would like to spend some time with you and get to know you better. Because we are so much alike. We could be great friends and together we can accomplish many good things. You can help me and I can help you. It is not good to be alone.”

              “Yes, of course, Wallace,” she said. Wallace offered her his phone, and she entered her number and name. She returned his phone, gave him a hug and said that she would love to spend time with him.

              “Please call me as soon as you can,” she said. “I know that we can be good friends. Don’t make me wait too long.”

              “I will call you tonight,” he said. “Maybe we can go out for coffee on Sunday morning after church. I would really like that.”

              She squeezed his hand, smiled at him again, and gave him another hug.

              Wallace smiled but also felt sad as she walked away.

From Point A to Point B

 

He stood motionless like a tree in the midst of a massive forest, surrounded by fellow students, both older and younger, and little Isaac could not have felt more out of place than he did at this moment. He could hear multiple conversations going on around him, all seeming to take place with little to no effort from those involved. His mind was in constant motion, moving from one problem to the next, finding solutions to questions that most children never considered.

A dodge ball bounced off the side of his head and he watched it roll across the playground, while those around him laughed at the spectacle and his lack of response. He stood motionless for another few minutes until the recess bell rang, bringing them all from their few moments of freedom back into the classroom. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Isaac was thrilled to be away from the small-minded simpletons that surrounded him on a daily basis. He thrived in the classroom, knowing all of the answers but usually keeping his thoughts and opinions to himself.

He learned early on that knowing everything was usually used against him by those who could barely speak or think coherently. The math lesson ended to transition into United States history to be shut down by the bell marking the end of the day. He and all those with him gathered their things and walked in a single file line out to the bus to wait for its arrival. The bus arrived, he waited until everyone else fought to get in and “get the best seats” as they argued.

He sat directly behind the driver, working hard to ignore the noise and chaos all around him. Thankful for the short drive, he was the first to exit the bus and find his mother waiting for him when he burst through the front door. He dropped his backpack, took off his shoes and enjoyed homemade cookies at the kitchen counter. With a half groan, he trudged up the stairs and collapsed on his bed to clear his mind and make plans for the evening.

Within seconds after lying down, he fell asleep and found himself standing in the desert to see a large city in the distance. A flock of birds swept down from behind him and encircled a golden thread that reached from the heavens to a seemingly empty patch of desert, funneling around it like it was a type of cyclone. He made a mental note of the nearest buildings, the mountains that lay behind him, and the small river that flowed past the city. Unfortunately, nothing stood out as particularly interesting and he worked hard to remember every detail. He woke up from his vision to hear his mother calling his name for dinner.

The next eight years of school passed by very quickly and Isaac was invited to speak as valedictorian at his graduation. He had maintained a 4.0 GPA through all four years of high school and continued his educational journey through university to earn his bachelor’s degree, his Master’s degree, and his Ph. D in archeology. Six months after earning his string of degrees, he was invited to join an archeological dig in northern Egypt, which stirred up his memory of seeing the city in the desert, the birds around the golden thread, and the desire to see if anything in that area matched what he saw in his vision so many years before.

He accepted the offer after speaking with his parents, bought the plane ticket, and landed just outside of the city of Cairo. His grasp of Arabic was robust enough to read the signs, pick up a few words spoken by those around him, and casually interact enough to get by. As he waited out front, he saw a man holding a sign with his name on it. He approached him, introduced himself and began the two-hour drive north to the city of Alexandria.

As they approached the city, he realized that the scene that was before him was identical to the vision he had as a child. “Hmm, no birds, no golden thread,” he muttered to himself. “Now what am I supposed to do?” The man weaved skillfully through the busy streets and parked in front of the hotel.

“You have already been checked in,” he said, “and here is your key card for your room. The archeological leader will be calling you in less than two hours. I suggest that you get some dinner before you leave the hotel. I trust you’ll enjoy your stay.”

Isaac climbed out of the vehicle, retrieved his bag from the trunk and slowly walked into the hotel, giving a friendly wave to the young lady at the front desk. He took the elevator to the third floor, found his room, called room service, ordered a light dinner, and enjoyed a large bottle of water from the fridge in his room.

Thirty minutes later a knock sounded on his door, and he peeked through the viewer to see a young man in a uniform with a food trolley. He thanked the young man, gave him a considerable tip and enjoyed his meal, having not eaten since breakfast that morning with his parents. He unpacked, took a quick shower, and changed into a new set of clothes, wanting to look and feel refreshed for the remainder of the day.

His phone rang a full ninety minutes after he arrived in his room. After answering, he was greeted by the lead archeologist to learn that a few from the team would be arriving at the hotel to pick him up within thirty minutes. After a brief and friendly chat, he hung up the phone, sat down and documented everything he could remember from his vision as a child. “I really hope that I can tie all of this together, because clearly I am supposed to see or do something.”

Twenty minutes had passed so he descended to the lobby, took a seat, and waited for the others to arrive. Feeling both excited and thrilled at this remarkable opportunity, he watched one young man, and two young women enter the hotel, motion toward him, and greet him. The four of them climbed into their jeep to disappear into the desert and enter a small collection of tents surrounding the archeological site.

In a shocking and surprising turn of events, he and they stood at the edge of the dig, were greeted by the archeological head and Isaac watched a golden thread slowly descend from the sky and touch upon the ground just beyond the main point of research. Certain that only he and no one else could see this spectacle, he focused his attention on the details being explained to him by the lead archeologist. The five of them slowly walked through the dig, and he made several observations and comments about what was taking place.

He pulled the lead archeologist to the side and suggested that they should redirect a few of the others to the spot that held onto the golden thread. “Excuse me, sir, there is something curious about this patch of land over here. I think it would be worth our attention to excavate here. I often get instinctual stirrings when I’m at digs and this spot is particularly moving me.”

“Okay, Isaac, that is not surprising,” he said, “that patch of land has already been identified as a place of interest. If you feel so inclined, I’ll make you the lead for this section of ground. Let’s see if those instincts are right.”

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to dig into my instincts,” Isaac said. “I would like to start tomorrow morning, beings that it is so late into today.  I would like to spend some time with the other archeologists, observe the progress that has been made, and make some connections.”

The two men shook hands, and Isaac spent the next several hours of daylight chatting with the others at the site, learning the history of what had been uncovered thus far, and making mental notes of the progress at each of the three locations currently in progress. As darkness enveloped the area, everyone gathered their things, moved all of the latest finds into lock up, closed up the fencing, and departed for their respective hotels.

Isaac met the same three team members from the day before in the hotel lobby just as the sun was rising. Everyone arrived at the site at the same time, specific instructions were given out, leaving Isaac in charge of the fourth dig. Having mentally documented the exact position of the golden thread from the day before, he and his team marked out the boundaries of the new dig, with Isaac specifically focusing on the touch point of the golden thread.

A full thirty-six inches below the ground level, he and his team uncovered an intricate and detailed mosaic, which proved to be the oldest known floor mosaic of the first church in Alexandria. With this remarkable discovery, everyone was pulled from the other three digs and worked as a giant team uncovering and protecting this glorious spectacle. Within hours local media arrived at the scene to document and communicate the details of the find to the world at large.

Isaac’s parents, back in the United States watched as their son introduced the new find, gave details of the importance of this beautiful mosaic, and articulated the plans for how to preserve it, protect it, and eventually determine its age. He and his team spent the next ten weeks working with meticulous precision documenting and photographing the find, eventually deciding to leave the mosaic as it lay rather than move it to another place.

As time progressed, the dig was expanded to uncover the outer walls of the church that surrounded and originally housed the mosaic. With everything and everyone in place, state sanctioned security was put in place and Isaac returned home to find three different offers to join archeological sites across the Middle East.

Mentally exhausted and physically tired, he was thrilled to learn that he had several weeks before moving onto the next archeological experience in Syria. After a relaxing drive from the airport to home, he dropped his bag, removed his shoes and enjoyed his mother’s homemade cookies at the kitchen counter. While he ate, he read through the three offers, compared and contrasted the time needed for each, and discovered that they did not overlap, allowing him to be involved with each one, with a short break between each worksite.

Isaac placed three phone calls, confirmed his interest in joining each one, and clarified the dates that he would be on site. Thrilled to be home, he spent the last few hours with his parents before showering and going to bed early, with the comfort and peace of being at home with loved ones.

When She Left

 

The town of Raddisburg was very small and very isolated. There were hints of its existence, but most refused to believe that such a place actually existed. Teams of people had been formed over the centuries, seeking to find it among the millions of wooded acres and during this time, many men and women scattered throughout the hills and valleys, determined to find the mysterious place that carried stories of miraculous events in the confines of its alleged existence.

Those who lived in Raddisburg never left the boundaries of its streets and alleyways, always keeping an eye on their edges of their beloved town, fearing to venture into the woods that surrounded it. The population was small, and would occasionally receive an unannounced visitor, which they saw a blessing from their God to prevent the problem of inbreeding.

When one of these visitors would appear, they would be brought before the town council, thoroughly questioned, and given a series of choices to make about staying within the town with a promise to never leave. They were to find a spouse, produce offspring, and devote themselves to making the town stronger, healthier, and safe from any threat from the outside.

Everyone in the town had specific work skills and expertise that provided value for the town and its inhabitants. No one was homeless, no one was unemployed, and no one consumed without contributing for the good of their community. They mayor of Raddisburg was out on his daily walk one early morning when he saw a small child wandering near the edge of town and seemed to be drifting toward the forest. The mayor quickly looked in all directions and saw no adult nearby, confused by the presence of an unattended child.

Knowing the imminent danger of wandering alone into the forest, he hurried across the small field that divided the town from the forest, retrieved the child and hurried to the hospital. After depositing the child into the nursery, he phoned the police, reported what he had found and word quickly spread to every household, inquiring about any lost children. By end of day, there was no response from any household of a missing child.

The mayor then contacted the priest at the one temple in town, seeking help to finding a young married couple who desired to have a child. The priest responded with words of consolation and a promise to find someone who would take the child in and care for her. By the end of the week, a newly married couple had been found who were unable to generate children of their own for medical reasons that could not be determined.

The small child flourished in the nursery, became greatly loved by everyone there, and due to her small size was incapable of any communication. At the end of the last day, the priest and the young couple arrived at the nursery to communicate their desire to love, to raise, and to care for the child. The little girl had red hair, which was unknown and heretofore unseen within their town. The couple was thrilled with this beautiful child, excited at introducing someone with a different genetic makeup from anyone in the town.

One year passed, then the second year passed, until finally little Abigail grew into her teenage years and announced to her adopted parents that her greatest desire in life was to become a nun and live at the monastery connected to the temple. Her parents were confused, concerned, and disappointed that she would choose such a path, refusing to contribute her different set of genetics to the town. Different blood, different genetics, and variety was needed to allow their town to continue to grow and flourish.

As was typical for their town, the occasional person would drift into the area, embrace their new reality, and become part of the town. Even though Abigail’s parents were disappointed with her choice for her future, they did not argue with her or judge her for her choice. They had envisioned a new line of people with red hair and fair skin trickling into the town and adding some variety to their black hair, dark eyes, and tan skin.

When Abigail finished her last year of school, she accepted her graduation degree, sold most of her belongings, donated the money to the monastery, moved out of her parent’s home and into a small hut on the monastery grounds. Her parents would visit on occasion, deeply missing their daughter and struggling with the reality of never having grandchildren. They began to grow old, never having any children of their own, and they watched the fiery tempered, red haired little Abigail continue down the monastic path.

Abigail’s passion for holiness, for separation from the world, and strong desire to leave behind all worldly cares became a new standard for several other young women in the community. For her first ten years, Abigail was alone in her monastic struggles, overseen only by the priest at the temple. Soon, more and more girls joined her, and she became the mother superior, guiding, teaching, and helping the newly arrived girls with their own struggles.

The monastery continued to grow, eventually becoming a sisterhood of nearly fifty young women who contributed their time, their energy, and their love for others. The sisterhood slowly added a small home for children born with disabilities, both physical and mental, finding a path for these handicapped ones that no one seemed to want. They saw the beauty of simplicity and love in these little people who offered nothing but love and faithfulness to everyone they met.

Instead of becoming mothers themselves, they embraced these disposed children, loved them, raised them, encouraged them, and taught them skills that would contribute to the betterment and improvement of their town. Large gardens were developed and grown, creating a steady stream of food to those who were struggling to feed their families. The raising of livestock, and the creation of clothing, all began to develop and improve over the years, while Abigail thrived in her position of leadership.

She began to slow down in her work, in her time, and in her passion for helping others as she grew older. On the evening of her fiftieth birthday, a massive golden glow appeared at the edge of the forest. This unusual spectacle drew everyone from their homes to see what exactly it was that was taking place. The entire town appeared at the outer edge of the city to see a small group of people who all looked identical to Abigail emerge from the woods.

They stopped in the middle of the field and a single older gentlemen walked away from them and toward the edge of the city to be greeted by the mayor. The two men shook hands, exchanged greetings, and lovingly embraced one another, as they could both see that this was a good and honest exchange of two loving peoples. They motioned for all of them to enter the city to enjoy a large feast that was being prepared because of their arrival.

They mayor asked what brought them to their little town in the middle of the massive forest. The man representing these people inquired about one of their children that disappeared many years before and if she had been found and brought into this small town. The mayor called for the priest to join them and Abigail from called forth from her monastic independence. Her appearance at the feast brought shouts of joy and excitement from the new visitors.

The mayor, Abigail’s adopted parents and the entire town watched in awe at the beautiful reunion of Abigail with her people. The representative from their people and a few others separated themselves with Abigail and spoke in a language that was completely foreign to them. In a long series of clicks and whistles, all of which Abigail clearly understood, something beautiful was communicated and shared between them. The main representative removed a small device from his pocket, spoke into it, and pointed toward the sky to reveal a flying device that landed in the field behind them.

All of the beautiful, red headed people began to enter the flying device, but Abigail hesitated, motioned for one of her fellow monastics to approach her, and communicated her desire to see her take over her role as mother superior. Her fellow monastic knelt before her, kissed her hand, and through tears tried to convince her to stay with them. The town stood in silence and awe as Abigail hugged her adopted parents, entered the flying device, and waved goodbye. The vehicle then quickly ascended beyond the clouds, leaving the entire town confused and thankful for all of the good that Abigail had brought to them and taught them.

Within moments of their disappearance, the town once again descended into darkness, the monastics returned to their solitude and everyone returned to their homes, thankful for this remarkable and amazing introduction and sad loss of their beloved Abigail.

 

I Am the Pebble

 

            The female drama in his home had almost become overwhelming and Henry began to wonder just how much more of it he could absorb without exploding. His wife, Marigold was nine months pregnant and struggling to take care of their three daughters. Henry was more than happy to work full time, do home renovations, and juggle the bills and responsibilities of a growing family.

              He and Marigold agreed to not learn the gender of the baby, wanting to be surprised on the day of delivery. Henry envisioned having a son that would grow up to be bold and responsible like him, yearning for a son to watch play sports, watch sports, and wrestle with when he grew old enough. The clock reached the ninth hour, and he scooped up the little girls to shuffle them off to bed while his wife collapsed on the couch.

              “Remember, girls,” he said, “Mommy will be having the baby very soon. Grandpa and Grandma will stay with you while we’re at the hospital. It should only be for one day and I’ll come home to pick you so you can see the new baby. This is so exciting.” He tucked them into their three-layer bunkbed, kissed them goodnight, turned out the light and sat with Marigold on the couch.

              “Can I get you anything from the kitchen,” he asked.

              “No, thank you,” she said, “I ate too much dinner and I’m just really tired. Hopefully this baby comes sooner than later. We’re only four days away from the delivery date. I have a feeling that this little one is going to be early.  Let’s hope for the best. My parents are ready to come over at a moment’s notice.”

              Henry pulled himself to his feet, shuffled into the kitchen and returned with a small glass of Merlot. He rolled Marigold to her side, gently massaged her back and feet, carried her to bed and enjoyed the silence of their little home while sipping his wine. He turned on a rugby match with the sound turned off and quickly came to the realization that it was almost midnight.

              He returned to the kitchen, washed the dishes, and an agonizing groan come from the hallway. “Henry, come quickly, my water just broke,” she cried out. Henry threw on his shoes, grabbed the car keys and carried Marigold to the car. Leaning her seat back, he assured her that they would arrive at the hospital in less than fifteen minutes. Before she sat down, she dialed her parents to see them arrive within five minutes.

              Henry, Marigold, and little Arthur returned from the hospital two days later, Henry was beaming with excitement at the prospect of not being the sole male in the family. He had visions of Arthur dominating on the football field, the baseball diamond, and the basketball court. The years passed by quickly and Henry grew more and more concerned as Marigold and the girls continued to baby Arthur, dressing him up like one of them and encouraging him to be more emotional and kind to everyone he met.

              When Arthur began kindergarten, he and Henry began to play catch, wrestle, and watch rugby together on Tuesday evenings. Henry could feel his hopes and dreams of Arthur being a dominating force on the playing field begin to shrivel. Arthur consistently failed to catch the ball, to throw the ball, and to even run with anything resembling any speed.

              Arthur finally reached the seventh grade and would return home each day after school complaining that he was always chosen last to be on one of the teams. He constantly complained about his failures in PE, but he maintained straight A’s in all of his classes. Thrilled to have something to encourage Arthur, he constantly commended him on his grades and the kindness he showed to everyone at every opportunity.

              When Arthur transitioned into high school, he confessed to his father that he had no interest or ability to pursue athletics. His passion was for learning and for music, having risen to first chair playing the trumpet. Henry and Marigold watched Arthur deliver the valedictorian speech at his graduation. His three sisters all glowed with pride at their brother’s achievements, thrilled at the good and kind person that he had become.

              Four years later, just like at his high school graduation, Arthur once again delivered the valedictorian speech at his university graduation. One week after returning home, he received a letter in the mail from a small software company on the other side of the state, offering him the lead position for their IT department. True to form, Arthur researched all of the details, facts about the small town, the cost of living, the opportunities that such a position offered, and the travel time from this new opportunity to his parent’s home. Feeling confident and settled with the offer, he accepted the position, traveled with Henry to the town to meet the office manager and find an apartment to rent.

              It was with tears, hugs, and grief that Arthur packed his few belongings, said goodbye to his parents, his sisters, and his few friends around town. He quickly settled into the new role as lead IT manager to find that two of the other employees on the IT team were unhappy about someone new coming in and taking the job they believed should have been theirs. Several weeks passed and he found himself connecting with one or two others at the company. During all of his interactions with his co-workers, with people around town, and with his new neighbors, he had visions of his former life as the one who was picked on during all of his years of schooling.

              Six months into his job, he returned to his apartment, looked at his weak and skinny frame in the mirror and was struck with the idea of eating healthier, exercise, and possibly begin lifting weights. He placed an order online for all of the necessary equipment to turn his body into a shapely and muscular frame. Within the week, his equipment arrived, and he made the plan to start light, a consistent and faithful jogging routine as a way to ease into it all.

              Arthur filled his water bottle, changed into workout clothing and put on his new shoes. Following this, he stretched every muscle he could think of before he started running. He followed the outermost roads around the town, determining that this path was just slightly over four miles long. He smiled and waved at more people than he could count, hoping that their kindness was genuine and not done merely to be nice. “Because that’s what people are supposed to do,” he muttered to himself.

              Three miles into his job, he felt a small stabbing pain in his left foot. He immediately stopped, removed his shoe and extracted a small pebble from his heel. “Wow, it’s funny how such a small object can cause such discomfort,” he said. “Now there’s a funny image. Just like this little rock, I now see that I was the pebble in the shoe of so many people upon whom I imposed myself.”

              “Every time the team lost, it was because of me,” he grumbled. “Now I understand what a pain and hassle I must have been all of those years, trying to be an athlete.” He tossed the pebble to the side of the road, slipped his foot back into his shoe, stretched a bit, and once again began running. Disappointed that his water bottle was empty, he slowed to a walk and followed the pathway to his front door. “I suppose this is going to take a while to build up any kind of endurance or muscle strength,” he grumbled. “I’ve got to be patient, consistent, and stay with it.”

              After a short and cool shower, he microwaved two beef and bean burritos, opened a can of pineapple and enjoyed a spicy and sweet dinner. “I need to share this new path I’m on with someone. I know, I’ll call Angelica, she’s always been the sister who was there for me, has always been supportive and helpful.” He dialed his sister’s number, chatted with her husband for a few minutes and then poured out his newfound passion to his sister.

              True to form, Angelica was kind, thoughtful and supportive, encouraging him to keep her up to date on his progress. He thanked her for her time, hung up the phone, poured himself a glass of Malbec and turned on a documentary about body building. When the movie was over, he cleaned his kitchen and found himself once again thinking about being a pebble in the shoe of so many people over his many years.

              He rose the next morning, feeling stiff and ravenously hungry. He could feel every muscle in his body complaining as he went through his workday. Determined to not allow a little bit of ache and fatigue keep him from his commitment to making himself stronger and healthier, he began a routine of running four days a week and lifting weights three days a week.

              After nine months of consistent running and lifting, he began receiving compliments from the secretary at the front desk. “Hello, Arthur,” she said when he entered the office. “I think you’re looking bigger and stronger than you were when you started here.”

              “Good morning, Anne,” he said, “thank you for noticing. I’ve been running and lifting for several months now and wow, do I feel so much better.”

              “Oh, good for you,” she said. “You should take me out for dinner on Friday. We really should get to know one another better. I’d like to hear more about you, your family, why you moved to his dumpy little town and your workout regimen.”

              “That would be great,” he said. “Does six-thirty work for you. Give me your address and I’ll pick you up. I know a great Italian restaurant in the next town over.”

              “Perfect,” she said, “six-thirty sounds great. I’ll text you my address.”

              Arthur returned to his desk, feeling more alive and energized than ever before. Wow, I did not see that coming. Anne is stunningly beautiful. I can easily see her becoming part of the family. I know my parents and sisters will love her. It doesn’t get any better than this. Wow, so awesome.