Are You There - God?

There once was an older, destitute man. He had lost his family,
his dignity, his work, and all his worldly possessions. The
only thing he had left was his faith in God.

One day, he walked along the city sidewalks; homeless as he
was. Peering around the city buildings, the passing cars, and
sidewalk shoppers - he remembered a time when had the love of
his wife, the comfort of home, and the camaraderie of his many
friends and successful business partners. Just for one moment,
he could feel the love and passion he once used to enjoy. But
then he looked up into the sky, and he could see the graying
clouds rolling overhead; and the wind began to fly past his
ragged shirt sleeves.

Realizing that he was who he was, he knew he had to find
shelter before the rains began to fall. Across the street, he
saw the old city park that he used to visit when he was just a
child. In the far end of the park, he spotted the old gazebo
he'd frequented with his high school sweetheart. Suddenly, the
rain began to fall. These weren't just ordinary raindrops -
they were hard, heavy, and oversized droplets of water that
pelted his head and neck like small stones. His walk turned
into a fast run as he struggled to get under the shelter of the
gazebo. Shaking off his shirt and wiping the wetness from his
cheeks and forehead, the man sat back on the two-seater swing
beneath the gazebo. Then he shook his head in disbelief. "Is
this what life is all about?" he asked, shaking his fist and
peering up toward the grey skies, "What more do you want from
me?"

Just then, the sky began to clear and above the skyscrapers, he
could faintly see some bright hues of red, purple, pink, and
even blue. It was a rainbow; and the sun's rays began to shine
through the break in the clouds. Now sobbing, the man looked
back up into the sky, and he asked, "Are You there, God?" But
there was no audible reply.

A few moments passed when a park ranger made his way up to the
old gazebo, "Top of the day to you, sir," he said to the man.
The man glanced at the ranger as the voice sounded vaguely
familiar. Sure enough, the man remembered the park ranger as a
friend he once knew many, many years in his past.

"I think I know you," the man replied to the ranger, "aren't
you Ed from the country store?"

The ranger was slightly taken aback as he too, recognized the
man. But the ranger's name was not Ed; that was his father's
name. "My name is Paul," said the ranger, stretching out his
hand to the man on the swing, "Ed was my father."

"Oh," replied the man, "I'm Mark Baker," he paused to shake
Paul's hand.

The similarities were uncanny, but Mark certainly remembered
Ed, and this ranger was the spitting image of him.

"How'd you know my dad?" asked Paul.

"Oh, it was so long ago...you wouldn't want to hear how we met,"
replied Mark.

Taking a couple steps beneath the shelter, Paul said, "Humor
me."

Mark explained that he and Ed had met each other in the local
hospital. Mark had gone there to pick up his lab tests where he
and Ed had struck up a conversation while they sat in the
waiting room. By the time all was said and done, he discovered
that he was the perfect match for Ed - the perfect kidney
match. "Needless to say," said Mark, "one thing led to another
and we were kidney partners for life."

"What happened to you?" asked Paul.

"Wall Street called me, greed took me, and I played my last bit
of luck," he replied. Sighing aloud, Mark blinked to clear the
water from his eyes, "and then I lost it all."

"I remember you," said Paul, then he pulled out a photograph
from his wallet, and pointed to two men standing side-by-side
by the old country store, "that's you, and that's my dad."

Peering at the old black and white photograph, he could faintly
make out the faces of the worn picture, "Sure does look like
me, doesn't it?" asked Mark.

Paul began smiling and he replied, "It is you," then he took a
deep breath, "do you know for how long I have been looking for
you?"

Mark simply shook his head, "well, you found me...I wish under
better circumstances."

Just then, Paul placed his hand upon Mark's shoulder, "I wish
my dad would've been able to see you again. He talked about you
all the time...and especially right before he died," Paul sighed,
"because of you, he was able to watch me graduate and get my
high school diploma, and later, he got to hold his newborn
grandson - my son."

"Wow," Mark replied, "I didn't realize that one kidney could do
all that."

"You don't understand, Mark," said Paul, "when he died, he left
you the old country store and the house. It's been waiting for
your return but you never came...until now."

And suddenly, Mark had received his answer...and his solution to
his homelessness. It had been there the whole time but it took
him losing everything before he would rediscover the rainbow of
hope once again.

Even in your darkest hour, when you ask - God shows up in the
most unlikely places.