"People have a lot of hurts."

I'm quite sure there is a sign on my head, however it is not visible to me. It is probably not visible to you either. It seems as if there are only 2 groups of people that can see this sign...people wandering in the Wal-mart parking lot or people who are holding up signs and standing alongside of the road to Wal-mart. I am guessing that this sign on my head says, "THIS LADY WILL FEED ANYONE, JUST ASK!!!!!!!"

All kidding aside, this has never really bothered me because, on some level, I understand it. Growing up, there were times when we didn't have food in our home. But, during those times, someone almost always gave something to us. I do not believe that these things were coincidences.

I do feel for people who get to the point where they swallow their pride and ask for help. Kevin and I never turn anyone away. Our rule, though, is that we never give cash. We will take people to buy food. We will give them the food right out of our pantry. We will even take them to a fast food place.

That is what happened on Monday. I was at Wal-Mart with Benjamin and Olivia grabbing some last minute things. It was 7pm (bedtime for the children) and Olivia was already in her pajamas. I was rushing because I still had to pick up a friend who was over near Good Shepherd and drive her out to Lake Cherokee. So, I quickly put the kids and the groceries in the car. Right then, a man and a woman walked up to me. The man said, "Ma'am I am not asking for money. My wife and I and our son are staying at (some motel I don't remember) and are hungry. I was wondering if you'd maybe buy us something to eat." I immediately handed over the salad that I was holding (for Kevin who was working late). It was a quick fix and I had things to do! Then I felt guilty for basically brushing them off. I realized that that salad wouldn't feed 3 people. I told him that I would help. The man said they didn't care what it was, and would even be happy with something from McDonalds. I said, "Sure. I'll take you over to McDonald's and get you a gift card." They said that someone from the motel had given them a ride and that they'd meet me over at McDonald's.

On the way there Benjamin asked a lot of questions about what we were doing and why. I explained that those people were hungry and that God says in the Bible that He wants us to feed people who are hungry. We also got to talking about how God wants us to take care of people who aren't as fortunate as we are. Benjamin thought this was a great idea. He also said, "I hope that they use the money careful and not waste it." Then my (untrusting) adult mind starting thinking things like "what if they sell the gift card and use the money to buy drugs" and "what if they really don't have a son and are just going to feed themselves and their friends" and "how can they afford to stay in a motel yet they can't afford food." I finally just had to pray and say that it is not my money to begin with. It is God's. I will hand it over and whatever happens to it after that is up to God. So, I bought the gift cards in the drive-thru and handed them to the man.

A few weeks ago I felt led to give money to a man who was on the side of the road. We were at the stoplight and the man was just standing there. I pulled $2 out of my wallet and rolled the window down. I just held my hand out and he came to me. I simply told him to have a nice day. This one time I broke our "don't give cash" rule, but I felt like I was supposed to. Benjamin was in the car then too. He asked me why I did that. I told him that the man needed money and that God told me to give him some. Benjamin seemed pleased with this answer.

I think that situations like this aren't always to help other people. I do believe that Benjamin has benefited greatly from seeing me and Kevin do things like this. Benjamin has been blessed with a sensitivity to the hurts of others. Whenever we see someone walking on the side of the road or sitting under an overpass, Benjamin will always point them out and say how he thinks it is sad that they don't have a home to live in. He almost always prays that "Jesus will help them have a place to live." I think that it is important to help others, even when we are skeptical, even if for no other reason than to teach our children that this stuff is not ours and that it won't bring us joy if we horde it all away.

Now for the end of my very long story....my proof of God in action through me. After leaving McDonald's and heading over towards the hospital, Benjamin says to me, "Mommy, I think that maybe I should play less outside and take some time to help other people. You have that gray card table under the bed and I could put that up outside and put food on it to give to people who need it. You have those baby first aid kits and I could use those to heal peoples' hurts. Can we get more first aid kits because people have a lot of hurts. Do you think this would be a good thing to do?"

"People have a lot of hurts" Oh, sweet boy, you don't even realize what depth that comment has. Yes, this is a good thing to do.