Tuesday 10/14

                     FAITH

       

       

               Chapter 1 That First Step

“I am shocked by the return of spring. And I wonder,

 Can the same thing happen for my soul?

-Eldredge, Desire

 

 

When we take small steps, they may seem inconsequential at first. Several months ago, I became aware of a group of people in Charleston, SC, (Feed a Friend Charleston) that were feeding the homeless. I became aware of this through a Facebook posting. There was an invite posted to help out and I responded that I would join them as they served dinner for about 40 homeless people under the bridge at the interstate on Friday evenings. I thought it would be a nice thing to do.

As I am writing about this experience with the homeless, it brings to mind a car sticker I see every now and then. It is a sticker of a dog’s paw, done in black and white, and it says, “Who saved who?” If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a reference to the effect rescuing animals has on the rescuer. The rescuer may often feel they are the ones bestowing a blessing and it turns out that they are the ones being blessed. Many times, we feel as though we will be investing more than we will receive back, yet we do it because we believe it is a good and noble thing to do, and we feel sorry for the animal and its plight. Yet most often, it turns out that we are the ones that are blessed far beyond what we had anticipated. This was much of my motivation when I responded to the invite. I never anticipated the

effect volunteering would have on me! This brings me back under the bridge where I had joined with about seven other adults to set up dinner.

The first evening I just showed up empty-handed to help serve. Others had prepared pans of hot meals and purchased all of the other food. There are always two hot dishes, salad, bread, cookies, fruit, iced tea and water. There are tables and chairs brought in as well. I was very impressed with all of the work that went into this effort.

Before we began serving, we all stepped aside to pray and to thank God for the opportunity to serve and to ask His blessing on us and those that have come to eat. Then as we would make our final preparations, Pastor Jay would go speak a Word to the attendees. When we were ready, the line formed and people of all colors and persuasions came together to eat as one. 

I recall last evening as I was filling up the paper cups with iced tea, I heard an older man laughingly say as he was being handed a cookie, “I’ve only got two teeth, but I’ll take one!” I looked up to see the biggest two-toothed smile I had ever seen. (I think the beer guy in the Wrigley field bleachers years and years ago only had one tooth, but that’s another story, and his smile wasn’t nearly as big!) It brought a smile to my face as I saw the happiness radiating from him. 

There have been several times when I have had to just pause and reflect on the hearts of those we were serving. We sometimes view the homeless as just people needing a meal. But, these are people with hearts and souls, dreams and desires, and hopes that have been set aside as they deal with the struggles of just surviving. Several weeks ago, as a middle-aged woman was accepting her choice of cookies from a couple of our youngest servers  (I imagine the two girls were probably just third graders) she took out two homemade bracelets and handed one to each girl. The look of joy on her face as she saw the smiles on the faces of these two young girls was priceless. Most of the people we serve have close to nothing, yet she sought to give some of the little she had to say, “Thank you” and to do what she could to put smiles on the faces of these two young girls.

I can’t help but think of the lasting impact on the girls. I think of how they will cherish not only the bracelets, and not only the smile from this lady who looked as though she has been living a very hard life, but looking back years from now as to how they were impacted at such a young age by this experience of helping others. Praise to their parents who sought to expand their child’s horizons beyond the comfort of their middle-class neighborhood. I wasn’t there the first day these girls showed up under the bridge under the interstate, but I can imagine their nervousness and apprehension as they set out to help. Thoughts of nervousness, curiosity, wonder, and yes, probably a little bit of fear too, probably ran through their minds as they sat in the car driving with mom. To think of their initial experience that first day and compare it to the smiles on their faces after receiving the bracelets must be an amazing contrast. The independence they exhibit now as they set up their cookie offerings will bring a smile to the face of all who seek to instill empathy in their kids.

A similar story evolved again last night. After I finished re-stocking my table with iced tea, I glanced across the alleyway and saw a guy in his mid-thirties finishing his dinner. I didn’t see that he had anything to drink, so I grabbed a bottle of water and headed over to him. I asked if he wanted a bottle of water and he said, “Yes, thank you.”

(I’ll take a moment here to recognize the thankfulness and politeness of many of the homeless we serve. It was not something I expected, but in all reality, I didn’t know what to expect. But so many are so determined to make an effort to say, “Thank you!” and “God bless you!”)

After I handed this man his water, he said, “I’ve got something here for you guys.” And as he stepped over to his white kitchen trash bag, he reached in and took out two pictures; they were oil on canvas pictures, about 12X12. As he took them out and started to hand them to me, he said, “I thought I was going to have a place, but I don’t.” Ouch! I asked him to hold the pictures. I told him it would mean so much to the young girls serving. I asked him if he would like to give the pictures to them himself. He said he would, so we walked over to the serving tables, he carrying his treasures. (I was impressed with the condition of the pictures, being lugged around in a thin bag as they were. He took great care of them.) I tapped the two girls on the shoulder and asked them to step out as someone had something for them. Their faces started as a look of confusion and then lit up as he showed them the pictures. It turns out he had four pictures and as the girls were choosing theirs, two young boys stepped in to see what the fuss was all about. After the girls had chosen theirs, the boys were all happy with the remaining two. Having gifted his prized possessions, I thanked him as he set off back across the road. The kids were all very excited and after they showed their gifts to their moms, one of the moms went across to say thank you. All the kids followed her. After she thanked him, she took out her phone and asked if she could get a picture of everyone together. You had to see the smile on his face! I couldn’t help but have to wipe away a tear as I watched him stand proudly behind the group of four youngsters.

 

       

Chapter 1 That First Step

“I am shocked by the return of spring. And I wonder,

 Can the same thing happen for my soul?

-Eldredge, Desire

 

 

When we take small steps, they may seem inconsequential at first. Several months ago, I became aware of a group of people in Charleston, SC, (Feed a Friend Charleston) that were feeding the homeless. I became aware of this through a Facebook posting. There was an invite posted to help out and I responded that I would join them as they served dinner for about 40 homeless people under the bridge at the interstate on Friday evenings. I thought it would be a nice thing to do.

As I am writing about this experience with the homeless, it brings to mind a car sticker I see every now and then. It is a sticker of a dog’s paw, done in black and white, and it says, “Who saved who?” If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a reference to the effect rescuing animals has on the rescuer. The rescuer may often feel they are the ones bestowing a blessing and it turns out that they are the ones being blessed. Many times, we feel as though we will be investing more than we will receive back, yet we do it because we believe it is a good and noble thing to do, and we feel sorry for the animal and its plight. Yet most often, it turns out that we are the ones that are blessed far beyond what we had anticipated. This was much of my motivation when I responded to the invite. I never anticipated the

effect volunteering would have on me! This brings me back under the bridge where I had joined with about seven other adults to set up dinner.

The first evening I just showed up empty-handed to help serve. Others had prepared pans of hot meals and purchased all of the other food. There are always two hot dishes, salad, bread, cookies, fruit, iced tea and water. There are tables and chairs brought in as well. I was very impressed with all of the work that went into this effort.

Before we began serving, we all stepped aside to pray and to thank God for the opportunity to serve and to ask His blessing on us and those that have come to eat. Then as we would make our final preparations, Pastor Jay would go speak a Word to the attendees. When we were ready, the line formed and people of all colors and persuasions came together to eat as one. 

I recall last evening as I was filling up the paper cups with iced tea, I heard an older man laughingly say as he was being handed a cookie, “I’ve only got two teeth, but I’ll take one!” I looked up to see the biggest two-toothed smile I had ever seen. (I think the beer guy in the Wrigley field bleachers years and years ago only had one tooth, but that’s another story, and his smile wasn’t nearly as big!) It brought a smile to my face as I saw the happiness radiating from him. 

There have been several times when I have had to just pause and reflect on the hearts of those we were serving. We sometimes view the homeless as just people needing a meal. But, these are people with hearts and souls, dreams and desires, and hopes that have been set aside as they deal with the struggles of just surviving. Several weeks ago, as a middle-aged woman was accepting her choice of cookies from a couple of our youngest servers  (I imagine the two girls were probably just third graders) she took out two homemade bracelets and handed one to each girl. The look of joy on her face as she saw the smiles on the faces of these two young girls was priceless. Most of the people we serve have close to nothing, yet she sought to give some of the little she had to say, “Thank you” and to do what she could to put smiles on the faces of these two young girls.

I can’t help but think of the lasting impact on the girls. I think of how they will cherish not only the bracelets, and not only the smile from this lady who looked as though she has been living a very hard life, but looking back years from now as to how they were impacted at such a young age by this experience of helping others. Praise to their parents who sought to expand their child’s horizons beyond the comfort of their middle-class neighborhood. I wasn’t there the first day these girls showed up under the bridge under the interstate, but I can imagine their nervousness and apprehension as they set out to help. Thoughts of nervousness, curiosity, wonder, and yes, probably a little bit of fear too, probably ran through their minds as they sat in the car driving with mom. To think of their initial experience that first day and compare it to the smiles on their faces after receiving the bracelets must be an amazing contrast. The independence they exhibit now as they set up their cookie offerings will bring a smile to the face of all who seek to instill empathy in their kids.

A similar story evolved again last night. After I finished re-stocking my table with iced tea, I glanced across the alleyway and saw a guy in his mid-thirties finishing his dinner. I didn’t see that he had anything to drink, so I grabbed a bottle of water and headed over to him. I asked if he wanted a bottle of water and he said, “Yes, thank you.”

(I’ll take a moment here to recognize the thankfulness and politeness of many of the homeless we serve. It was not something I expected, but in all reality, I didn’t know what to expect. But so many are so determined to make an effort to say, “Thank you!” and “God bless you!”)

After I handed this man his water, he said, “I’ve got something here for you guys.” And as he stepped over to his white kitchen trash bag, he reached in and took out two pictures; they were oil on canvas pictures, about 12X12. As he took them out and started to hand them to me, he said, “I thought I was going to have a place, but I don’t.” Ouch! I asked him to hold the pictures. I told him it would mean so much to the young girls serving. I asked him if he would like to give the pictures to them himself. He said he would, so we walked over to the serving tables, he carrying his treasures. (I was impressed with the condition of the pictures, being lugged around in a thin bag as they were. He took great care of them.) I tapped the two girls on the shoulder and asked them to step out as someone had something for them. Their faces started as a look of confusion and then lit up as he showed them the pictures. It turns out he had four pictures and as the girls were choosing theirs, two young boys stepped in to see what the fuss was all about. After the girls had chosen theirs, the boys were all happy with the remaining two. Having gifted his prized possessions, I thanked him as he set off back across the road. The kids were all very excited and after they showed their gifts to their moms, one of the moms went across to say thank you. All the kids followed her. After she thanked him, she took out her phone and asked if she could get a picture of everyone together. You had to see the smile on his face! I couldn’t help but have to wipe away a tear as I watched him stand proudly behind the group of four youngsters.