We finished watching the video "A Man Named Norman" today in religion. After every inspirational story I've ever told or retold, this story was personally the most powerful in my life.
The story was about a man who was considered the outcast of the town. He lived in the shadows in an old house that seemed to be abandoned. The porch was caved in, the windows were so filthy you couldn't see through them, the bushes we severely overgrown, the wallpaper was falling off the walls, there were cans and dirt and trash bags everywhere, and it's inhabitant was a cruel old man. The house was ignored. No one ever had a reason to stop by the house, or Norman.
Every Sunday after church services, all the Christians in this small town in Illinois would go to get ice cream at the Dairy Queen together. Norman, like clock work, would walk in the the Dairy Queen, where the town gathered in conversation. Norman was ignored. He would walk in and sit down alone. People would act like he wasn't there.
A tall, lanky man, mid-70's, Norman was...strange. He wore old overalls that were covered in dirt, rain boots, no matter the weather, and he looked as though he hadn't bathed in years. Dirt covered his body from head to toe. He would often be seen downtown looking in to the sky talking incoherent words. So, people would walk around him, ignoring him.
Until his neighbor, new to the town, reached out one day to help Norman fix his lawn mower. He said "Hi, Norman. I'm your new neighbor." "Hi, Norman, I'm your new neighbor," said Norman in his deep voice. The neighbor had this feeling in his heart as though he should invite Norman over that night to watch a Christian program that night. "So, should I see you tonight?" the neighbor said. "So, should I see you tonight?" Norman answered before he walked away.
That night, Norman walked across the street, dressed in the best he owned: an old tie that wasn't tied quite right, a pair of dirty slacks and a shirt. Norman obviously knew that being invited over was a special thing. He sat at the t.v. and watched for a full hour the Christian program. When it was over, he just stood up and said "Thank you, Mike" to his neighbor before leaving to his dark home across the street.
The next morning, the neighbor, Mike, walked over with an old suit to give to Norman. When he handed the suit to him, he remembered the word of God: "treat others as you would treat YOURSELF." He took Norman under his wings on that day. He bought him a brand new suit and cut his hair. The biggest change: giving Norman a bath.
He scrubbed Norman's face in the bathroom clean before telling him "From the neck down is up to you, big guy. Call me when you think you're clean and I'll see if you are really clean."
Norman called him three times before he was really clean. When Mike asked Norman why it had been so long since his last bath, Norman answered with a statement that broke Mike's heart. "Even if I did, who would care?" That day, Mike took it upon himself to care.
He fixed up Norman's house, with the help of some Methodists from the church displaced by a blizzard. It was a showplace. On top of that, he took Norman to a Cardinal's game. Norman claimed he had only been within 30 miles of the old town his entire life, since he was left alone from a young age in the old house after the death of his father in a coal mine. Norman had raised himself the best he could, and never had a chance to provide himself with any fun.
Norman changed Mike's life, much like his story changed mine. With the little help of a kind Christian heart, one acting with the help of God, Norman was no longer in the shadows. He was accepted and loved. He was helped when no one was willing to help him, and this old man finally had a chance to truly live life.
We all have Normans in our lives. We all have those people who we'd rather stay in the shadows than stand beside us. When will it be your turn to help out? Read the Bible, and now it's your time every time. No man is too big or too small for a helping hand.
