Jun 05, 2025
He came down the alley shortly before six a.m., making agonizingly slow progress. He wasn’t riding in the wheelchair, but shuffled along behind it on stiff legs, resting his weight on the handles. I could tell that his body was ancient, even though it was shrouded in a long, ragged black overcoat and broad brimmed hat. His incongruent blue jogging shoes made shuffling noises as they traversed the pavement in painful one inch steps.
I would have turned then from my hotel window, from just one more poverty stricken old person, had he not begun to act strangely. The green and chrome wheelcair turned sharply right and he followed it directly to the eroded brick wall of the cathedral across the alley. Still shuffling painfully, he struggled to maintain his balance as he set the handbrakes. Rocking from side to side, he gained momentum and moved his foot an inch to the side. Snail like, he moved to the side of the chair. His arm flicked out like the tongue of a snake, testing for the security of the brick wall.
The process took several minutes. I continued to watch as he arrived at his desired position, his face inches from the ancient bricks. I wondered what important reason he had for expending what was obviously a great deal of energy to come to this point.
The question was immediately answered. A trickle of urine began to flow between his feet, winding its way toward a rainfilled depression in the pavement.
And then, I judged. I did God’s duty for God, condemning the old man for his indecency and irreverence and all around nastiness. Pissing on the church! But I kept watching, and that was how salvation came to me in that moment.
The old man turned, and in identically slow and agonizing fashion, won his way to the alley door of the church, and made his way inside. My last sight of him was of his arm snaking out in trial and error until it reached the door knob, which he pulled shut behind him. And I thought, how early did he rise, how far had he come in such tortuous fashion, how hard had he pushed himself to reach the church? What was in his heart that drew him so strongly?
Then I knew that the old cathedral would have been glad and proud to provide one of her children with that little bit of comfort and privacy in exchange for such loyalty. And in that instant I got a glimpse of the Lord of the Church.
He was smiling.
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God Doodles 
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