From the Mouths of Babes

"Are you getting old, Mommy?"  Coralyn asks me as we are getting ready to head out the door to do our grocery shopping.  I chuckled to myself, somewhat taken aback by my toddler's brash honesty.  I tried to figure out why in the world she would ask this, how this idea had been planted in her little sponge-like mind.  Oh yes, of course!  Last night I was reading some books to her and mentioned that I need to get my glasses so that I could see better.  I went on to explain more as a joke than anything, "My eyes need help seeing.  I'm gettting old!"  I should have known that Coralyn considered this remark a fact, one of which I apparently needed reminding, and not just an off-handed comment. 

Thankfully, Coralyn redeemed herself before we had even made the first stop of our grocery trip. 

As we pulled up to the stoplight and prepared to turn towards Wal-Mart (oh joy!), I saw a man in the median holding a sign that read, "Homeless.  Anything will help."  Sadly, my first thought was, "I wonder if he really is homeless or if he's just trying to scam people and make an easy buck or two."  Then, God reminded me that regardless of the man's situation, He had given me an opportunity to share the love of Christ, to live open and expansively as I wrote about just yesterday afternoon.  Not only that, but Coralyn would get to see this open and expansive love in action. 

And so, I pointed out the man to Coralyn and explained how he didn't have a house or a bed and might not even get to eat today.  I went on to say that we were going to do what we could to help him; we would buy him a lunch at Wal-Mart and then give it to him on our way to Hy-Vee.  I made sure she realized we were doing this because we love Jesus and want to show the man what God's love looks like.  I told her that when we handed the man his lunch, we would also let him know, "Jesus loves you!"

After I had finished describing our plan to Coralyn, she replied, "We love him."  I wanted to correct her, "Well, we don't really know him, so we don't actually love him.  But, we do love Jesus and Jesus loves that man."  But I realized that Coralyn didn't need correcting at all.  I did.  She was absolutely right.  If we love God, then we do love that man.  Sure, we don't know him from Adam.  We don't have to.  He is created in the image of God, and therefore, if we love God, we also love that man.

It's so much easier to just give him a ham and cheese sandwich, though.  Loving him, really truly loving him is much, much more difficult.  It costs more than $3.  It requires more time and effort than zipping my cart down the aisle, grabbing a "man-friendly" lunchable, rolling down my window, and handing the boxed lunch to the man, and driving away to go buy several bags full of food (not to mention all the groceries sitting in the back of my Yukon).  It means that I will pray for that man, as if I myself were in his place.  Homeless.  Hungry.  Thirsty.  Desperate. 

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for the opportunity to share Your love with that man.  Thank You for giving me a chance to live openly and expansively, as You have been challenging me to do.  I pray that You will take our small act of kindness and use it to bless that man in a huge way.  I don't know if he knows You or not, Jesus.  I pray that as he eats his ham and cheese sandwich, he will remember what I said, and believe it.  You love him.  I pray that You will not only fill his stomach, but also his heart.  I don't know if he has a house to go to, a place to stay tonight.  I don't know anything about him really.  But, You know him, and everything about him and his situation.  So, please take care of him.  Provide him with a job, a house, clothes, food, and whatever else he may need.  Through all this, please make Yourself known to him.  After all, You made him; he is Your child.  You love him.  And so do I.  Or at least I trying to.  Teach me to love him, really truly love him, and anyone else You place in my life.  Fill my heart with Your love and please continue to give me opportunities to share Your love openly and expansively.