I like to pretend I don’t see uncomfortable people.
I don’t see the guy with the cardboard sign…in fact, I refuse to look at him.
I look past the woman with the unkept hair and the bad skin.
I don’t see the weird kid with the haunted look.
You think I’m cold. Maybe I am. But I’m also afraid.
I’ve seen that look in the mirror. And I never want to see it again.
I worked hard to keep my appearance unalarming. I didn’t want people to notice how alarmed I was at where I found myself.
I have felt the dread in the pit of my stomach that wonders how it is that I’m NOT holding that sign.
And it terrifies me…until I remember something important…
Someone saw me. Someone gave just what I needed at the time. Someone kept me from the brink of disaster.
…what if they hadn’t…?
What if Leslie hadn’t given me produce? I didn’t have a garden and couldn’t afford to buy fruits and veggies.
What if Ellie hadn’t given her excess jam & pickles? These ‘extras’ made the meals more palatable.
What if Chad hadn’t given money every month? Sometimes his $300 was the only money that came in.
What if that person hadn’t left money in the mailbox? The power bill was long overdue and winter was coming.
Maybe that someone was you. If it was, I thank you. I don’t know you...
But Jesus does. And He says, “…whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me,” (Matt. 25:40).