Monday, June 21, 2010

COME

The sign said:

ANYTHING WILL HELP
HUNGRY AND BROKE
GOD BLESS YOU

He was probably 18 or 19. A woman, I assumed was his mother, sat beside him on the ground. She leaned against a road sign. She looked like she was in pain.

All kinds of pain.


I knew I didn't have any bills with me but I remembered a large zip-loc bag that was in the car. It was filled with coins, mostly quarters.

I rolled down the window and put the heavy bag in my lap. I motioned for the young man to come to the car.

Humbly, he came.

I told him to open up his hands.

He did.

I reached into the zip-loc bag with both hands and grabbed a handful of coins. I poured them into his opened hands.

I did it again.

His hands couldn't hold any more coins.

I don't remember if he said thank-you or not.

It didn't really matter.

I felt a crushing moment of pain as our eyes met.

I said, "You know, God loves you."

He nodded and walked over to the woman, the woman who looked like she was in pain, and as she opened her hands, he poured the coins into them.

I know what it fills like to be broke and hungry.

There are many ways to be "broke".

There are many ways to be "hungry."

I may not be standing on a street corner, holding a sign, but the words broke and hungry are written all over my soul.

God sees it.

He tells me to open my hands.

He tells me to open my mouth.

And every time, He fills them.

He fills them until they overflow.

My prayer is that I pour the overflow into others.

Will the young man and the woman use the money responsibly?

Will they waste it on things that can hurt them and bring more pain into their lives?


It's easy to judge.

But, the log in my own eye reminds me of the handfuls and mouthfuls that I have wasted.

The log reminds me of His gifts that I've used to hurt myself and others.

The log reminds me how I so often replace my love for the Giver with the love of His gifts.

But, in God's mercy and grace, He continues to give.

And, I am humbled.

As He looks into my eyes, the pain is gone, and I hear Him say, "You know, I love you."



"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, and buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." Isaiah 55:1

". . . you do not have because you do not ask." James 4:2d


3 comments:

  1. So many hurting people. Breaks my heart. Dear God, please send laborers into the fields.

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  2. Thanks for sharing this story.

    ReplyDelete