Those of you who know me well, know that I am not one to seek for any attention; I thrive in the background, and often do not open my heart and share my feelings unless I am extremely familiar with those who surround me.
Today I had a couple experiences that I’d like to share, and hopefully it will give you something to think about too.
I went to Wal-Mart with Jesse and Andee today. I needed to get some apples for a fruit salad for the meal prior to the YW broadcast tomorrow. As I was driving into the parking lot, there was a thin, scruffy, shriveled husk of a man who appeared to be 60 years old or so. He was holding a sign that said he needed a job and food among other things. I tried not to look too closely. I wondered cynically to myself how much money he could earn a day doing something like that. As I passed him I had the strong impression that he needed a sandwich, banana, and something to drink.
Now, being a woman, and a naive one at that, I usually steer clear of men doing things like that. But, again, I had the feeling that I needed to be the one to give him something – ‘a sandwich, banana, and a drink’, the thought still persisted.
As I made my purchases and took them out to the van I had the very clear thought that I needed to tell the man – as I gave him the food in the Wal-Mart sack, that the Lord loves him and that he asked me to give him this food. Of course this filled me with dread, but I knew that I had to.
As I drove up to him, I rolled the window down on the passenger side of the van. I noticed that he wasn’t sixty years old as my first impression led me to believe, he was more like 25 or so, maybe. As I pulled over to the side he stepped back and averted his eyes, and seemed astonished to see my window down. As he stepped cautiously forward I picked up the sack of food and said to him, “the Lord loves you and asked me to give this to you.” He nodded once and said that he appreciated it. His eyes seemed to tell a story all their own.
I’m not sure what will ever happen to the young man, but it really made me stop and think. Do we ever see someone for who they are if we are merely looking at what they appear to be on the outside. As I drove toward home, I was overcome with the assurance that the Lord really does love him and me too. We are all His children. Under all the layers of hurt and sadness of living life, we all are His.
Jesse asked me, “Why did you give food to that man?” I told Jesse that he was hungry and Heavenly Father asked me to do it, to which he replied “You are such a nice mommy.”
Just last night, as I was driving home I was silently thanking Heavenly Father for all of the recent experiences I have had that have helped me increase my understanding of this principle and asked Him to help me increase my ability to have compassion for all of His children and know how I could be of help to those in need.
On Wednesday, I was talking to Henry’s teacher. I found out that she just got out of the hospital, and was struggling as she took care of her two foster kids. I told her that I would be more than happy to do what ever she needed to help her, meals babysitting – whatever she needed. As I was leaving her classroom, I felt that I needed to touch her on the shoulder and let her know that I was serious, anytime she needed help she could call me. She called me this morning and asked me if I would be willing to let the kids come over and play for a few hours this Saturday or next. I told her we would be able to watch them all day so she could rest. I’m so glad that she called me.
Today’s experiences, again, have confirmed His love for me and is another step in me progression of understanding His perfect love for us.
Thank you for letting me share, I don’t usually babble on and on about my personal experiences of this type, but today I felt compelled to do so. Maybe it was for you…
Have a good weekend!
