As I was cleaning my bookcase this weekend, I dropped a couple of books. I skimmed over the title of each, trying to recollect what they were about. I quickly stuffed them back into my shelf. I grabbed the last book and I looked at its title, "An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-year-old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny" by Laura Schroff. I remembered the vital message this book had taught me as I held it in my hand.

The story describes Laura Schroff, the successful ad sales representative, living in a Manhattan and an 11-year-old panhandler names Maurice who's on the street asking for spare change. Laura notices the child on her daily commute but never pays attention to him.

One cold day in November, something intrinsic causes her to walk back to the child. She asks Maurice if he'd like to go to McDonald's. And, from this simple act of kindness, a lifelong friendship begins. The two begin to meet week after week for years, with Laura inviting Maurice to Thanksgiving dinners even. Laura learns about Maurice's homelessness and drug-infested neighborhood, taking it upon herself to provide Maurice a proper education and a meal every day. In this, Maurice finds a mother figure within Laura.

Laura and Maurice then vs. now

Laura and Maurice in 1986 and 2011

lauraschroff.com

The vivid quote I remember from this book is that "an invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance." Maurice and Laura were never meant to meet. They came from such different backgrounds, with Laura being wealthy and Maurice being impoverished. But the invisible thread bound the two together. The small meal shared together between the two eventually made Laura and Maurice become family.

I've used this book to remind myself that a small act of kindness, such as buying someone a meal, can spark such a long and positive chain of events. But it's the quote that I keep in my mind whenever I do something. It reminds me that if something is meant to happen, then it will happen. There's no need to rush or wait around for it. I'll be tied to it with an invisible thread. It'll be spontaneous like Laura and Maurice's interaction but I know that it'll benefit my life.