Sometimes we take the power of doing good for granted and may even grow weary of doing good. For Peter, he came to learn the power of doing good after helping three poor orphans. What followed would not only change Peter’s living conditions but his take on life.
Peter never thought this was where 62 years of life would take him. He always envisioned that at this point in life, he would hold a senior position in the police force and have a large family bustling with grandchildren.
However, that was not his reality. Peter was a small-time security guard at the local amusement park. He had never had any children of his own, so in a strange way, his job allowed him the pleasure of watching over the children of others and permitted him to dare to dream and imagine what could have been. And while Peter was disappointed at how things had turned out, he never let it get him down. He was lonely but content with where he was in the life he had.
It wasn’t much to look at, but it was his, and he lived, loved, and embraced it accordingly. One day, on his way back to work from his lunch break, he noticed three children playing with broken bottles and cans on the street. Concerned about their safety, Peter approached the children. “Hi there, I’m Peter,” he said. “Hi Peter,” they replied.
“I’m Sally, that’s my brother Tom, and my sister Jane,” said Sally. “While it’s a pleasure to meet you kids, what are you guys doing here?” Peter inquired, pointing to the bottles and cans. “Oh, nothing. We were just playing,” said Sally.
“Oh, it looks a bit dangerous, though. You could hurt yourselves, especially with those bottles,” Peter remarked. “This is all we could find in the trash bins to play with. Grandma can’t afford to buy us toys. She says our imagination’s the best toy we could ever have,” said Jane.
“Well, I can’t argue with that. And what do your parents say?” asked Peter. “Our parents are gone, sir. We’re orphans,” said Tom dolefully.
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Peter replied. Peter was moved by the children’s unfortunate circumstances. He took it upon himself to do something about it. So the next day, he bought three annual amusement park passes for the children. A pass went for about 450 bucks each, and given a little money Peter earned, that was a large chunk of his pay.
Moreover, Peter had to dip into his savings to pay for the passes. But for Peter, it would all be worth it once he saw the joy in the children’s faces. Later that day, Peter gave the children their passes, and needless to say, they were over the moon with joy. They thanked Peter for the passes and were extremely grateful. Over the next couple of months, the children would often come to the park, and it would bring Peter great joy to know that they no longer had to play with the garbage on the street.
He was pleased to know that they could enjoy themselves safely and freely and that they had hope for a happy childhood regardless of their unfortunate circumstances. One day, Peter’s boss, Randell, saw the children playing in the amusement park, which didn’t sit well with him.
The children weren’t as privileged as their usual customers, and Randell perceived them as stray kids who had somehow eluded security and broke into the park. Concerned about security’s incompetence, Randell called Peter into his office. “Peter, you’ve been with us for a while now, and I could always count on you to keep the order here at the park,” said Randell.
“Yes, sir,” replied Peter nervously. “Now, having said that, I have concerns about some recent activity. A group of street children has been entering the park under your watch,” Randell stated. “Stray kids, sir?” asked Peter perplexed.
“Yeah, stray kids, particularly three of them around the age of 10. I have no idea if they’re even paying for the ride,” said Randell. It then dawned on Peter that he was talking about Sally, Tom, and Jane. “Peter, if you can’t do your job, I’m afraid I’ll have no choice but to get someone who can. You understand, right, Peter?
Randell continued, becoming slightly agitated. “Sorry, sir, if I may, I believe there’s a bit of a misunderstanding here. Those aren’t stray children; they’re orphans. I bought the annual passes fully paid for from my own pocket. I was just trying to help these kids who’ve had it rough, you know.
I saw them playing with garbage outside and thought I’d help,” said Peter. “Orphans, you say?” asked Randell. “Yes, sir,” responded Peter. “It’s an admirable thing that you’re doing for these children, Peter,” Randell said, beginning to tear up, to Peter’s surprise.
“Please excuse the waterworks. It’s just that, Peter, we didn’t have much when I was growing up. I grew up not too far from here, and I always watched the other kids enjoying the rides but never got the chance myself. My parents simply couldn’t afford it. If only someone was as kind to me as you have been with these children, and I’ll explain.
Thank you for your kind words, sir, and sorry to hear that, but it seems you’ve done well for yourself,” Peter said. “Yes, as true as that may be, it seems I may have also forgotten where I came from somewhere along the way. Listen, Peter, I know you couldn’t have afforded all those passes with what we pay you. So let me do my part as well. I’ll up your salary from today going forward.
So if you’d like to help other children, you don’t have to put yourself under any unnecessary burden. How does that sound, Peter?” Randell said. “Sounds great, sir. Fantastic, actually,” said Peter ecstatically.
From that day on, Peter’s pay was doubled, and he checked on Sally, Tom, and Jane regularly, helping them in whatever way he could. Sometimes he’d even join in on the fun.
