I saw a man on the side of the road, hitch hiking, the other day. It was a cold winter day. The wind was cold and was whipping through his hair. He had no hat or gloves. He was blowing warm air on his bare hands to warm them. I did nothing. I thought, if he is there when I drive back through I can give him some food. He was gone, I will probably never see him again, that breaks my heart. God has been speaking a few things to me since that day.
I have been told by my husband and others that I am never, ever, ever, ever to pick up a hitch hiker and I have promised I won't, but my heart still goes out to them and I want to help in some way. The first thing I think of is that I am so blessed because I have such a support system that I have never been down on my luck. Even if I would do things to loose every material thing I own I would still have such a group of people around me to get me back on my feet. If my car broke down I probably have ten people I could call to bail me out, If I lost my home I would have numerous people to take me in. I don't ever want to take that kind of support system for granted.
When I see someone on the side of the road, I wonder what happened in their life that brought them to this spot. It doesn't matter what brought them there, the fact is they are there. Now what can I do take make it a little bit better. Sometimes I think we do that to new people who have just accepted Jesus. We wonder about their sin and how they got their life in mess. It doesn't really matter how, as much as it matters now what can we do about it to help them get on the right path.
Another question I have been pondering since that day is this: If we could just help one person at a time, bring them in our home, love them, give them essential life skills, SHOW them the love of Jesus, help them on their way and then start all over again with someone else God brings our way. What a difference that would make in this world. I know, it is probably way too idealistic, but it is a thought that is running around in my head.
I just wish I had bought him some warm dinner. Maybe next time..............
2 comments:
Tracy,
I know this won't ease your mind about this man, but did you know that the federal gov't gave Indiana a large sum of money to be used for the sole purpose of helping the homeless? A lot of the money will be used for the homeless in Indpls, but the money will be dispersed state-wide. So, even though our husbands don't want us picking up strangers on the streets, there is someone pretty high up in government thinking about them.
I love what you said in the end of this blog. I think that is exactly what it's all about. Helping one person at a time. That is real quality love and help. I'm definately not "anti- corporate" help, but sometimes it makes a much bigger impact on a person's life, when they were singled out by someone who just wanted to focus on reaching out to them at the time. I can relate to your hitchhiker story. I've had the same thing happen, and it's hard to not feel bad. I guess you can just look at the bright side. If he wasn't there anymore, it looks like someone else was able to reach out to him.
Love ya,
Amy
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