When I was hungry

The very first thing I noticed as we drove down the dark street was all the people. Where did they all come from? Blankets out on the sidewalks, suitcases, coolers, people everywhere. We pulled onto the road and stopped the car. My daughter, her friend and I got out. The smell, oh my, what is that smell? A mixture of urine and sweat.

The two men we were with opened the trunk for us and we began getting the sacs out. One, two, five, eight people all coming toward us. I wasnt scared. I felt safe. I had prayed for protection on our way down and God gave me a peace as we were standing there in the middle of the dimly lit road at 9 o' clock at night. They started coming in droves. Dozens and dozens of people. They were young, old, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, men and women. Oh the women, so many women. That was different. In PA I only ever saw 2 maybe 3 homeless people. No women, well not since Paul and I were first married and we came across a young girl who was pregnant. We helped her get to a pregnancy center. Paul saw her on a bus years later with her daughter. That made us smile.

One woman came up to us. You knew she had to be a regular because everyone knew her. She saw the girls and ask for a hug. My beautiful 11 year old daughter reached out wrapped her arms around and hugged this older hispanic woman who was missing teeth, dirty and sweaty. Trin didnt care she just loved on her like Jesus. I am so very proud. Her name was Soul. Well it meant soul anyways, I do remember that. She was told she only had a couple weeks to live that the cancer was bad and she would go home soon. Soul believes Jesus healed her. She smiled and got excited as she told me she was here and living and God was good. Living on the street needing help to get her next meal, dying from cancer, praising her Father. My God how great thou art. There is a lot I need to learn from Soul. She blessed me and said goodnight and requested a handshake from us as well. We all obliged. How could I not? She was so warm and inviting.

We started to pull away and go to the next street, but the guy we were with that was carrying the water was having some car trouble. So we turned back around to help. While there more people starting coming up. I couldnt grab the bags fast enough. They were all around the car waiting to be fed. The sac lunches were getting less and less. After we got to the next street we had four left.

I looked down the long street full of cars and people. Down at the end of the street we saw a man and pregnant woman fighting. Then they made up all over the street :) Either that or he was choking her. As we started down the road I noticed the cars packed full of things. These were makeshift houses. People lived in these cars. People live in cars? Really? How naive was I to believe this only happened in movies. One after another they came up to the car. Now only one lunch left. They girls wanted to take the lunch apart and give some to each person. I love that they cared. The last person came up and the food was all gone. More people came up and I had to tell some we didnt have any. My chest hurt. They werent angry or sad. It was ok by them, not by me.

What was I doing with my life? My nice comfy starbucks filled life? I should have made more lunches. I could have done more. The man we were with said at some point we were going to run out anyways. We still had the water. The truck in front of us had the water and we would follow them until it was gone. Down at the end of the street we made it to the pregnant woman and the man she was with. He started walking up to the truck and she walked away. He caught up with her to give her a water, she kept walking faster. It wasnt that she was trying to get away from him, more that she was proud and didnt want to go beg for water and food. I would have done the same thing. In fact I did. When Paul lost his job the one time we needed to use the food bank at church I made him go. When he used the food stamp card we had at one time I wasnt around. I would suddenly have to pee or need to go to the car or pick up a magazine to start reading it. I wasnt one of those people. You know the ones on *whispers* welfare.

Tonight I learned so much. I saw so much. We are studying Matthew and it kind of made me think about that. Jesus walking down the street and the crowds of people that just wanted to get near Him. I saw a blind man tonight with his cane walk down the street and right to our car happy to get a cold bottle of water. I saw people laying on the hard ground in their night clothes sleeping. I saw men sitting on chairs made of buckets playing a game on a piece of cardboard. I saw my daughter and her friend hand sac after sac of food to each person that came up to them. I saw them want to do more. I saw people come up asking for the ice from the cooler when the water was gone.

The Holy Spirit brought to mind the scripture Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

When the water was gone people came and got ice, a man filled his cooler. Maybe all he needed was more ice for his cooler and God knew so He took us there to that exact street and the man's immediate needs were met. Each person that got food or water tonight had their immediate needs met. God had that covered. Seven days a week there are people who go down with 50 sac lunches and feed these people and hand out water too. Every.single day.

It took an hour out of my life. What would I have been doing? Eating? Maybe watching TV? An hour. Thats it. An hour out of my life was all it took for God to use me to meet the needs of a hundred people or so. I'm hooked! 

What can we do tomorrow to show people that God will meet all their needs? How can we be the change we want to see in the world? You can start with maybe keeping a cooler of water in your car and when you see someone who is thirsty give them a drink. Matthew 25:35-40 35.For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

be blessed