Heart Touchers

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{Straight From the Heart} *Where I'm Supposed To Be* 12/29/00

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I can think of no better person to ring in the New Year for us than Terri McPherson.
Have a great weekend and a Happy New Year!
Michael
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Where I'm Supposed To Be

By Terri McPherson

I could have gone to a couple of gatherings at
the homes of friends and family yesterday. I
could have stayed home and curled up with a
good book all day. The last thing I intended to
do with a perfectly good stretch of peace and
quiet, was join the throng of Boxing Day
shoppers. Yet, when my husband called and
asked me to meet him at the mall, I went.

Long lines of loud shoppers stood outside most
of the stores. Everyone was noisy and animated.
They couldn't get into those stores fast enough
to spend their money. We were surprised by the
number of young people in the mall. They out-
numbered the adults 2 to 1 - easy.

After my husband found what he was looking for,
we grabbed a quick bite to eat in the Food Court.
I felt a little restless and decided to stay behind
and do some research at the book store. I
grabbed a pile of reference books, found myself
an empty chair, and started making notes. Four
hours slipped away from me.

My daughter gave me a gift certificate from the
bookstore for Christmas, so, when I was finished,
I put the reference books away and strolled up
and down the aisles. I found a beautiful book
called 'The Quiet Little Woman' by Louisa May
Alcott, and picked it up for my granddaughter.
Then I found 'A Memory of Christmas Tea' by
Tom Hegg, and picked that one up for myself.
Since both of the books were Christmas books,
they were 50% off. Perfect. My gift certificate
would cover the cost of both of them.

I had an odd, aimless feeling I couldn't shake.
My research was done, my shopping was
finished and I was getting tired. I'd run out of
excuses to stay in the store. Finally, I left.

Since my truck had been sitting out in the cold
all afternoon, I let it warm up for a few minutes
before I put it into gear. While I was sitting there,
I noticed a young boy in the next aisle of the
parking lot. He kept ducking down. I knew he
wasn't trying to break into a car, he was in the
middle of the aisle-way. The truck was parked
in the farthest spot from the mall entrance,
which gave me plenty of time to watch him and
see what he was doing.

It wasn't until he crossed over to the aisle I was
parked in, that I realized he was bending down
and picking up change off the ground. He bent
down in front of my truck, and when he stood up,
we made eye contact. I took him to be around
ten-years-old.

In that split second, the contrast between the
frenzied kids on their shopping sprees inside the
mall, and the one lone kid picking up change off
the ground outside the mall, was terribly apparent.
The youngster in front of me was wearing one blue
glove and one tan glove. His coat was about two
sizes too small. The zipper was held in place with
a big safety pin. As he walked away from me, I
saw his shoes. They looked like they'd outlived
their usefulness a couple hundred miles ago.

I rolled down my window and called him over. He
came, sort of. He left a good distance between
us, standing hesitantly - poised for flight. I could
tell by the fearful look on his face that he half
expected me to yell and chase him off. My heart
hurt.

I asked him if he needed some money. His
reply was instantaneous. "No, no. That's okay."

The parking lot was wet and slushy. I could tell
his feet were cold by the way he kept shifting
his weight from one foot to the other.

"Please," I insisted, holding out a five dollar bill.
"It's not much, but when money is shared, it
seems to go a lot further."

He took a step closer. "Would it be okay if I
spend it at McDonald's?" he asked, hiking his
thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the
fast food restaurant across the street.

"Sure you can," I answered. "You can spend it
wherever you like."

He pulled off one of his gloves and reached for
the money. His small hand was red and chafed.
That thinly knitted glove wasn't keeping his hand
warm at all.

"Would you mind taking these off my hands," I
asked, picking up the spare pair of gloves my
husband keeps in the truck. They were old, but
they were good warm gloves. "I bought my
husband a new pair for Christmas, but as long
as he's got these ones, those new ones will sit
on the shelf at home and never get used. What
do you say? Will you help me out?"

"Okay," he answered. "I'll help you."

He took the five-dollar bill, stuffed it inside his
glove and put the glove back on his hand. I
passed him my husband's gloves and watched
him put them on. A big smile, the first one I'd
seen, spread across his face. "Thanks! These
are great!"

"Glad you like them kiddo," were the only words
I could get past the lump in my throat. The gloves
were way too big for him... and he was so very
happy to have them. Most kids his age wouldn't
be caught wearing them, period, let alone in
public.

He looked over his shoulder, towards McDonalds.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

He looked down at the ground, "Yes."

"Me too!" I said.

He started to pull the glove off. "Do you want
your money back?" he asked, with genuine
concern in his voice.

"No, no. I just meant I better get home."

"Oh. Okay."

After another big 'thank you', he turned and
walked away. I watched him go. When he got
to the road, he turned and waved his small hand,
encased in that great big glove, at me. I waved
back, put the truck in gear and drove away. I
didn't want him to see me cry.

The next time I feel restless and can't figure out
why I'm not doing what 'I' think I should be doing,
I'm not going to analyze it and wonder what the
heck is wrong with me. I know I'll end up exactly
where I'm supposed to be.

Living in love and loving life,

Terri McPherson

Send Terri an email and let her know what you thought of her story!
*********
Terri lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has two wonderful children, a
five-year-old grandangel and a terrific husband. She works as a Writer / Web
Designer / Production Assistant for a local production company and teaches
advanced clogging classes for the Border City Cloggers. Her writing has
appeared in numerous online publications.

Check out her website and join her wonderful email list!
Weaving Small Wisdoms Through The Fabric Of Life
WiseHearts
http://www.mnsi.net/~tmcphers/index.htm

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New Year Wish

By Terri McPherson

Here's a special New Year wish
sent specially to you.
I wish you joy beyond compare,
success in all you do.

I wish you goals within your reach,
friendships true and strong.
I wish you gracious wisdom,
forgiveness when you're wrong.

I wish you days of glorious peace,
nights of wondrous rest.
I wish you strength and courage,
persistence to be your best.

But most of all I wish for you,
more love than most will find,
the grandest love in all the world,
the everlasting kind.

Send Terri an email and let her know what you thought of her poems!
*********
Terri lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has two wonderful children, a
five-year-old grandangel and a terrific husband. She works as a Writer / Web
Designer / Production Assistant for a local production company and teaches
advanced clogging classes for the Border City Cloggers. Her writing has
appeared in numerous online publications.

Check out her website and join her wonderful email list!
Weaving Small Wisdoms Through The Fabric Of Life
WiseHearts
http://www.mnsi.net/~tmcphers/index.htm
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REQUESTS:
From: GCox212517@aol.com

Hi Michael,
I just wanted to send an update on my Aunt Ginger and thank everyone for their prayers.

She is improving, slowly but surely. She has gone from Radiation to Chemo therapy. And on Christmas Day I was told she joined the family in the family room and could sit up. She never leaves her room and cannot even usually get out of her hospital bed at home to receive her treatments. An ambulance picks her up and the attendants have to lift her from bed to chair to ambulance. So this is Christmas was truly a miracle that she could sit with everyone. Like an infant sitting up alone for the first time.

Please continue to pray for sweet Aunt Ginger. Thank you. Our God is wonderful.

Gayla

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Thought For The Day:

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing."

Verse for the Day:

"Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."
1 Peter 2:21

Kid's Thought For The Day:

"You work so hard pedaling up the hill that you hate to brake on the way down."

Parent's Thought For The Day:

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." - Frederick Douglas

Coach's Thought For The Day:

"The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the others willing to let them." - Robert Frost

Deep Thought For The Day:

"Can you believe how many award shows they have now? They have awards for
commercials. The Cleo Awards. A whole show full of commercials. I taped it
and then I fast forwarded through the whole thing."

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_
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ /    THUNDER27@aol.com
/_/ \    "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \   Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
   \_\/   of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20

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The Four Spiritual Laws
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