Our spoiled little dog, Buddy, was sprawled out on his back laying in the comfort of our soft bed. I was petting his belly when I started to think about how lucky he was to be cared for, loved, and have a nice home to live in. Then my thoughts went back to an encounter I had earlier in the day with a homeless woman.
As I walked out of Winn Dixie that morning with a cart full of groceries I glanced back toward the front of the building and saw a woman sitting on the sidewalk. She held a plastic bottle of water and a small canvas bag. She looked toward me and started to say something, probably asking if I had any change. In my haste, hurrying to get out of the miserably hot, Florida summer heat and into my air-conditioned truck, I waved her off and loaded the groceries. Sitting in my truck it struck me how incredibly blessed I am. We’re not rich, but we’re comfortable. We have a home to live in with air conditioning, food to eat, clean clothes to wear, and much more stuff than we need.
I considered giving her a few dollars that were peeking out of my wallet, but the warnings about giving money to homeless people cautioned me otherwise. As I drove out of the parking lot I stared at McDonald’s straight ahead. It was around 9:00 am and if this woman was asking for money I figured she was probably hungry.
I headed for the drive-thru and ordered a Big Breakfast and a glass of ice water then drove back to where she was sitting. I waved her over to the truck and told her I bought her breakfast. Her face lit up with a huge smile and she said, “Oh, man! Thank you!” Her excitement woke me up from my morning fog and the joyful look that came over her face is one I’ll never forget.
Her brownish teeth and unrestrained appreciation beamed from her as I handed her the bag of food and glass of cold water. You would have thought that I had just given her a thousand dollars. Those four words of gratitude struck me to my core. I had underestimated how God works in all circumstances to show his love. Here was a woman who seemed to have so little and yet when confronting her she was no less a woman than me. A woman who needed to eat and needed to have someone show her some compassion.
Her final statement of “Jesus loves you!” before I drove off was a gift from her to me. I was grateful for being reminded by a begging woman that the Savior of the world cares about me as well. I said “God Bless You” and drove off.
As I sat petting my dog on the comfy bed I felt a little pinch in my heart when I grasped the harsh reality that my dog, Buddy has better living conditions than the woman I met that morning.
I don’t understand why some people end up homeless. It’s a sad reality, especially in a large city where you see people sleeping on sidewalks in broad daylight, pushing shopping carts that you’re certain holds all of their earthly possessions, or holding up signs at stop lights.
It’s in our human nature to judge a person based on outward appearances. I’ve done it. But the person I met today with a disheveled appearance and desperate for a meal had a heart and soul just like me. She had a radiant smile that I knew was God-given, she had a grateful heart when she could have been bitter that life had taken her down the path that she was on.
The small bag with a nice breakfast didn’t change her lifestyle, but it showed her that there’s still a little bit of kindness in humanity. Her appearance could have appalled me but she instead reflected the love of Jesus even within her unfortunate circumstances. It was a powerful lesson that blessings come in many forms and sometimes unexpected places even with one small act of kindness.
Soul Talk Girl 