My new friend Alfredo
In another life path, I knew we would have been friends. The minute I gazed on his smiling countenance, I fell for his twinkling eyes in a face that wore its wrinkles well.
Lines of a life well lived,
In joy.
An aroma of optimistic spirit emanated from him.
But the journey to this chance meeting almost didn’t happen.
A vacation in a tropical paradise conjures visions of palm-lined white sand and turquoise water,
Usually not baseball…
Any of you who know The Preacher–also know he is a bit of a baseball fanatic. You may think it strange, but to us, going to a professional baseball game in the Dominican Republic was the most natural thing.
When The Preacher found out it was the national play-offs, he mused aloud if there might be a way to go. Of course a trip to a ballgame two hours away would not be on any excursion lists, so we inquired with the hotel concierge and secured a guide.
He had looked up game locations online and with the concierge, yet when we drove into the parking lot, the stadium was pitch black. Hugely disappointed, we inquired of a young man who was jogging by. He said the game was in San Pedro-twenty miles away.
So close…if we hurried we would still make it by the fourth inning or so.
Finally, as we walked into the correct stadium, we scoured the packed stands for more white faces, finding none (later 6). Baseball was not on most American tourist “places to visit list” I guess…But everyone was was kind and friendly, not treating us as the crazy Americanos that we were.
I later encountered an American headed into the bathroom as I was leaving. We giddily cried, “Americano!” and embraced, then went on our way.
I needn’t have worried about what we would eat, it appeared Dominos pizza is a world wide chain.Who knew? My cheese bread was huge so I shared with my charming seat mate, Alfredo. Later he insisted on buying roasted nuts for us, not just one small bag but four!
Spreading joy has no boundaries
Or parameters,
No language
Or race barriers.
A kindness can be small or large
But it’s measure can be incalculable on the scale of joy given.
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Job 6:14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”
-Pick at least one person every day this week to be kind to.