Finding Another Reason To Live

Finding Another Reason To Live

By Paul McCann

He just lay there with a bottle of Vodka in his hand . The morning parade on the sidewalk stepped over and walked around him . In a semi-conscious state, he looked up as people turned away , they all pretended not to see him . It’s much easier to pretend you don’t see someone who needs help because then you don’t have to feel guilty about ignoring a fellow human being who somehow became invisible. 

The sound of heavy traffic thundered back and forth as people around the city continued to walk past along Regent Street . He rolled into a ball as a young man stopped and asked if he was feeling ok .

“The sound of feet shuffling past made him feel very uneasy . The young man leaned over close to check his breathing as he whispered .

““Have you heard of heaven  ?”

The drunk opened his eyes and sat up . Then he unscrewed the bottle top and  poured some vodka down his throat . Reaching out the bottle to the young man he offered him a drink who refused at first until he drunk continued to have a drink from the bottle .  

Finally, the young man relented and had a drink and then passed the bottle back  .

The drunk smiled and said ,

“ So, you’re not frightened that I might have some contagious disease ?”

The young many replied .

“Well, I suppose part of me is concerned about what might be in the bottle , but you know in life not many people offer anything for free , so I thought what the heck .So tell me ,what’s your name . ”

“My name is Joe and yeah , I’ve heard of heaven but it’s a long way from here though .”

He took another sip from his bottle of vodka .

The young man looked at him and spoke.  

“ Follow me .“

The young man crossed over the road to a cheap hotel and handed over some money to pay for a week’s stay in a cheap room there . The drunk was so happy that someone actually cared about him . The young man smiled and said ,   

“I’ll come back here in a week Joe and maybe by then you will look and feel a little better after some food and a bath .

The drunk smiled and said ,

“ Are you from heaven ?”

The young man just smiled and walked away .That night the drunk was given some food at the emergency accommodation hotel and he had a bath and then returned to the bed and pulled the blankets over him . That night it was very windy and the rain pelted down and lying there under the blankets was the closest thing to heaven he had felt in a long time ,

 The new day came and the manager of the hotel brought some breakfast to him and said. 

 “Here take these .“

He handed over some warm clothes and a pair of leather shoes that fitted perfectly .

Some people are just lucky I guess like the drunk who had for the first time in his life experienced the kindness from a stranger . It gave him a reason to live and from that day he stopped drinking . A week passed and the young man returned to see how he was doing .

He handed a card with a prayer on it  and said  .

“Try to say this prayer  every day and you will be ok.

 .Placing the prayer card into his pocket  he then asked .

“It was you who found me lying on the ground . I was freezing cold and you brought me here to this hotel and paid for my accommodation “

“I’m happy to see a big change in you .Now go and find a life “

The young man walked away and, in a few seconds, he was gone .

The phone rang in reception and the person on duty took the call and called over .

.“Are you Joe “

“Yeah why “

“Because you have a job interview arranged , here are the details “

He handed over an envelope that had some money and details of where the interview was . Joe was excited about the change in his life and made his way along the sidewalk with a big smile on his face ,“He thought to himself  if heaven had streets with signs, I guess it might look a little like this .

The job interview was simple and he was offered a job emptying the rubbish bins on the streets . He felt as if his life had been given back to him . In the work crew there was a driver in a  truck and another man who also was emptying the bins with Joe .

Before work every day Joe took a look and recited the prayer on the card he had been given . The picture of the man on the front of the prayer card looked just like the face of the young man who had helped Joe get his life back together again.

Joe thanked God every day for his new life and in his heart, he knew that one day he would be going to heaven .

The End