Good Deeds

Happy Birthday Grant! :-)

I wanted to share something that happened to me today. I'm not sharing it so that anyone can say, "way to go, Heather," but I am sharing it to try to express what I felt today.

I was heading to church tonight for Wednesday Night Supper. When I get off of the main road, there is a stoplight and several times I have seen a man on the side of the road with a sign. I don't like to give money to people asking because I don't know what they'll do with it. I've passed guys before, but today was different. There were a lot of cars at this exit, so I felt relatively safe. I had a banana left over from my lunch, so when I passed the man, I rolled down my window and handing him the banana. I also stopped long enough to tell him, "God Bless." He said "thank you, you too!" Here's the part I want to really share. After I continued on my way, I couldn't help these tears of joy welling up in my eyes. It felt so good to give to someone who was genuinely grateful. I am an extremely fortunate person and to get the chance to help someone less fortunate was a blessing to me as much as it was to him. It's so easy to give money to organizations that help others, which is a wonderful thing to do, but to actually see someone be touched by another person's generosity is priceless. It made me want to do it again!

I know that God always has a reason for everything. I think there was a reason that that man was on that street today. I believe that there was a reason I felt a tug at my heart to give him something. I also can only hope that another person behind me, possibly upset that I wasn't stepping on the gas to get through the green light, saw what I did and will be impelled to do something too.

There is a song that I actually heard on my way to work this morning. Below are the lyrics. Maybe I saw Jesus today on the side of the road. It could happen. If so, Jesus has a wonderful smile.

The Twenty-First Time
by Monk & Neagle

Nowhere to live
Nowhere to fall
He used to have money
But he’s wasted it all
His face is a photograph burned in mind
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He sleeps under stars, it’s all he can afford
His blanket’s an old coat he’s had since the war
He stands on the corner of Carter and Vine
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He may be a drifter who’s grown old and gray
But what if it’s Jesus and I walk away
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

She’s 29 but she feels 48
She can’t raise three kids on minimum wage
She’s crying in back of the welfare line
But I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time

She may be a stranger trying to get through the day
But what if it’s Jesus and I walk away
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
But I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time

This is a call for a change in my heart
I realize that I’ve not been doing my part
When I needed a Savior, I found it in Him
He gave to me, now I’ll give back to them

Drifter or stranger, daughter or son
I’ll look for Jesus in everyone
‘Cause I am the body and drink of the wine
And I’m thankful there’s more than the twenty-first time