Immersed in the realities of a fast-paced world, sometimes living in the moment seems like a farfetched idea. By the time we’re done ticking off the errands on our checklist, we start planning for the upcoming days.
Thus, from time to time, we all need a little push from our well-wishers, or in other cases, total strangers, that we’re forgetting the most key aspects of our lives.
Leanne, a mother who was out shopping with her sons, had a thought-provoking conversation with a stranger, which turned out to be a pivotal moment of her life.
She was pushing a cart that was loaded with food and her children around a store when an elderly gentleman stopped by.
He simply couldn’t resist the sight of her kids and proceeded to have a chat with them.
He mentioned “how cute” they were and felt compelled to ask them several questions.
Her kids turned out to be quite cooperative and answered all they could to the best of their knowledge.
The stranger also chatted briefly with Leanne before proceeding on his way.
After a while, Leanne again spotted the gentleman in another corner of the store. He immediately began walking towards the mother with a solemn look on his face.
So, he then began to narrate a story about his son, when the latter was around 5 years old. His son was pleading him to build a birdhouse. But the father bluntly refused, saying that he was tied up with “important” things for work.
He continued by saying that he watched his 5-year-old walk away disappointed “without crying or making a scene.”
The father suddenly felt awful for treating his son in this manner and called him back.
Later, the father-son duo drove to a store to buy the materials and built the birdhouse.
It’s been over 40 years now, and “he can’t remember anything about the work he was doing or what made it so important.”
The old man then looked her in the eye and concluded the story by saying “but we still have that birdhouse.”
It was a story that Leanne would never forget, one that made her have a long, hard look at herself.
“My eyes immediately flooded with tears,” she wrote.
Leanne realized that though she was with her kids most of the time, she wasn’t really putting in the effort to fully engage with them.
“I halfheartedly do activities with them. I fuss at them. I get distracted by chores and my to do list and my phone,” she added.
The chance meeting with that stranger sent a powerful message to Leanne about the importance of cherishing family time and life.
It made her realize that she had to “slow down” and be more intentional with her family.
She ended the story by saying: “God puts people in our path to help show us the way. The next time a stranger comes to you with something to say, be open to the message. It might change your life! Life happens when we talk to strangers!”
Leanne’s unexpected encounter with the stranger may have been for a brief moment, but the impact was certainly worthwhile. When someone feels compelled to share something with you, be all ears to it.
