Shoes For God
Shoes for God
Seems a bit surprising, isn’t it? Well, the story began something like this.
Opposite to the huge iron gates of an International Bank, used to sit a small boy with his shoe-shine kit. No one knew anything about his antecedents. He just seemed to belong to this pavement. The bank CEO was a Good Samaritan and allowed him a few square feet area to earn his meals. Perhaps, the name ‘Joy’ was also given by him. It matched his bright and cheerful exterior. There were many shoe shine boys on the street but none matched the dazzle created by Joy, on his customer’s shoes. They enjoyed his merry talk, his cherubic face and his complete devotion to his job.
Years passed. Children, who came holding their parent’s hand, grew up to become lawyers, bankers and professors. Joy also grew up, but only to become a shoe shine man from a shoe shine boy. Nothing changed for him, not even his earnings and thankfully not even his ready smile. May be, it was the goodness of his heart, that God spared him the sufferings of old age. Poverty and old age should never walk together.
So our dear Joy reached heaven and he deserved it. It was a busy day and there were many waiting to enter the gates of heaven. They were asked to wait in a room till they could be accommodated. Our Joy was one of them. The place was nothing less than heaven. Few days passed till Joy could finally be led inside the gates of heaven. He carried his shoe-shine kit with him. St. Peter was quite amused on seeing him and said, “Child, No one wears shoes inside heaven, they don’t need to. So please leave it here.” Joy was crestfallen, he pleaded, “Sir, this is the only skill I have, my enjoyment and my pride. I don’t want to go inside. Let me be here, I will prefer to sit at the gate and do my work.” A strange request, refusing a place in heaven! St. Peter allowed him to do so with little apprehension.
The story reached God. He called St. Peter and said, “Peter, we can’t allow this. This man deserves to be in heaven more than anyone else. Do some thing to make him happy in heaven. Do you have a solution?” “Yes Sir, we must order some shoes for you and for others, that too leather ones,” replied St. Peter in a calm voice. “So be it,” ordered God.
VintiJetley
