Proverty | JOURNEY OF THANKFULNESS

We can’t do it alone, we all need help on the journey.

I have a gift…I see homeless people. This is not meant to be a joke. I will go to the most affluent of neighborhoods and encounter someone in need of shelter. I have never been bothered by this, in fact it is very much the desire of my heart to work with the homeless. From this group of people I have learned humility and vulnerability. I have seen mothers crying because they can’t provide for their children. I have seen men utterly devastated and humiliated by standing on a street corner begging for anything that will help them take care of their family. I have seen the flip side as well, people who just want to mooch off of others. I have one rule…I will buy food, clothes, even pay for a room, but no money. Today’s lesson…GOD makes the rules.

On my way home from church today, I spotted a man on the sidewalk with a cast on his left leg. He was standing on crutches and holding a sign. I inched my car forward so that I could get a better look at the sign, it read: injured can’t work…please HELP. I was in the left turn lane and before my brain registered, the word “HELP”, the light turned green. So, I turned. I guess I wasn’t suppose to help…wrong. Two seconds after turning I felt something in my spirit say (more like scream)..turn around. Really?! I struggled with the decision a bit…but made the u-turn. His name is Joe. He was injured at work, broke 3 toes. However, he was fired because he couldn’t work (yes I know, you’re thinking workers’ rights, but Joe is working an under-the-table sort of job…he has no rights). I am in the left turn lane once again (my time is limited), and I hear God say, ‘Give him money.”

Wait! What?! Not only did You make me turn my car around. You want me to give him money, too (this is so against my rule). I struggle in my mind, but I open my purse. I only have a twenty (aww, come on). “Give it to him.” REALLY?! I struggle some more (it’s all the money I have). Reluctantly, I hand Joe the twenty dollar bill. I say these words. “God told me to give this to you. He made me turn my car around for you. He loves you.” Joe looks at me, smiles, and says, “I know.” The light turns green, I drive off. Here’s some truth what I gave Joe is temporal (money runs out). What Joe gave me will be with me forever. What was it? That standing on a corner begging for food, after being wrongfully fired, does not mean God doesn’t love you. On that corner, with his broken foot and his sign…Joe knew that simple truth.

So what am I thankful for today? That I made the u-turn.

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

I learned this fact today and it grieved my heart:

“Approximately 1 billion people throughout the world go to bed hungry every night.”

This is a statistical FACT. However, for most of us stats are just numbers. Numbers used to quantify or classify a situation. Sadly, we DON”T pay attention to statistics. Today this statistic became real to me, as it took on human form. I had a conversation with someone today, that made me realize how much I take for granted, and how little I have to complain about. I, like many people, have had financial issues. But I have never had to take a drill and extract my own tooth…I have dental insurance. I have been hungry, but I have never had to rummage through garbage cans to find food…I have a Walmart card. I complain when my AC doesn’t work, but I have never had to sleep on the streets…I have NOTHING to complain about.

Food for thought. We have many more blessings than we think. Let’s stop looking at what we don’t have. Instead, let us be grateful for what we already have. Here’s a thought…instead of always getting, why not try giving?

So what am I thankful for today? I am thankful that someone (whom the world sees as a statistic) taught me that stats are NOT just numbers.