The Homeless: Meeting their Physical Needs is not Enough

There are mixed emotions that well up inside of me when I see a homeless person begging on the side of the street. Usually, my first reaction is sadness and compassion for that person, and I inwardly begin kicking myself for ever having complained about some petty problem or inconvenience in my life. After all, compared to them, I live like a queen! There are times, however, when I see the same person "working" the same corner almost every day that I get annoyed and wonder why they don't just put that same effort into getting a job that would possibly earn them more money and definitely earn them more self-respect.

The bottom line, though, is that they have a soul just like me that needs the Lord, and if I'm not willing to share that with them, then how can I complain about their lack of will-power? The Lord can change people and give them a reason for living.

"The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them." I Samuel 2:7-8

Whenever possible, we have determined to help those people. Since I don't know what they would buy, I refuse to give them money or even store gift cards, but I see no problem with giving them food along with a "plan of salvation" tract.

"If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land." Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 10-11

The other day, when we were leaving town to go to my parents' house, we had the truck loaded up with all of our stuff (including some groceries), but we needed to swing by a store on our way to pick up a couple of things. As we approached our turn into the store parking area, we saw a homeless person standing in the median with his sign. Because of traffic and the fact that we were turning, I wasn't able to get something together quickly enough, so I just prayed as we turned that if the Lord would work it out for him to still be there and for the traffic to be clear (since it was a busy road) when we left the store, then we would share something with him. While Jason ran into the store for me, the girls and I set to work getting together what we needed. The only food I had available to eat right at that moment was bananas. I had packed a lot of ingredients to make things, but they weren't prepared yet, so I figured, if he was really hungry, he would enjoy a banana. =)

The Lord did work everything out! When we pulled up to the red light to turn onto the main road, the traffic just seemed to clear, and we were able to go across 3 or 4 lanes of traffic to get to the median, hand the guy his banana and a tract and go back across those 3 or 4 lanes to get into the turn lane for the entrance ramp to the interstate without any vehicles getting in our way! That was indeed a miracle, especially since it was a busy part of Tampa.

The girls giggled when we handed the man the banana and tract. I guess they thought it was funny to see him waving the banana at us and shouting as we drove away, "Thank you, and God bless you!" They may think it to be strange right now, but I hope that as they grow, they will adopt the attitude of love and compassion for those souls just like Jesus had when he was on earth.

"And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things." Mark 6:34

My Sweet Girls and their Tender Spirits

This past Monday, Jason's day off, we all worked in the yard, cleaned out the garage and did other various chores around the house. While Jason and I worked in the front yard and garage, the girls rode their bikes. At one point in time, they came up to the driveway and ran into the house whispering something to each other. When they came back outside, I asked them what they were doing. They informed me that they had gone inside to get some tracts that they had picked up at church and that they were going to hand them out to any people they might see while they rode their bikes. Wow! My heart swelled, and I inwardly beamed as they rode off with tracts in hand.

Moments later, while I was pulling weeds in the front flower beds, the mail lady drove up and had a package to deliver to us which required her to get out of her vehicle. I glanced up from my work to see Alyx standing on the driveway watching the lady. She looked back at me, and I smiled, nodded and motioned for her to give a tract to her. She did, and the lady smiled and said, "Thank you."

A couple of days later, Alyx came to me and said that she had been thinking about the mail lady and how she could be saved now. It is a possibility that she did accept Christ, but even if she didn't, I told Alyx that she had fulfilled her responsibility to plant the seed in that lady's heart by giving her the tract and that maybe sometime later she will come to see her need of salvation.

As many of you know, our pastor introduces a new theme for every school year. This year's theme is "Sowing the Seed...Daily!" I am so proud of my girls not only for paying attention in church but also for taking the initiative to get those tracts from church and for having the courage to pass them out to complete strangers. May we all adopt that same sweet, tender spirit of a child and do our part to spread the Gospel.

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Once the front yard was done, it was time to move on to the back! Jason mowed while the girls played. Larissa had fun following Jason and the lawnmower. She and Alyx helped to rake up the cut grass when Jason was done cutting. Alyx and Larissa both caught some butterflies, and Sydney got some ant bites. =) Jason gave the girls lots of wheelbarrow rides. When it was Alyx's turn, she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. Jason looked down at her and asked, "What are you? The Lady of Shalott?" She got a kick out of that! Here are some pictures from the day...