"That's Okay, Sir....God Bless You!"

So, even though I'm not a huge or generous giver of money to people with cardboard signs standing by the roadsides around my city, I do find my heart going out to them whenever I see them, which is often.  I wonder, what is their story?  How did they get to this point?  Where is their family? Where do they sleep at night?  And, what keeps them going?  I find myself wanting to and planning to stop and speak with these men and women to get answers to my questions with the hope of perhaps helping in some way more than I do.

Recently, as I was driving through the Home Depot parking lot in my neighborhood there was a person with a sign standing at the end of the parking lot which is not uncommon.  Sometimes it's a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes a family with a child or children.  As I drove up next to this man I rolled down my window.  He was probably in his 60's, wearing old and wrinkled clothes and a beat up baseball cap.  His face was weather-beaten, his hair thin and receding,  and I saw only two yellow teeth left in his mouth.  I gave him some money.

It wasn't a lot of money, not because I'm stingy, but because currently I am unemployed and I need to be frugal with my limited finances.  And yet, even though unemployed I have a comfortable home which I own, two cars which are paid off, plenty of food, cable, internet, a loving family, etc. and so I say to myself regularly, "Surely Dennis, you can do something."      

So I rolled down my window and gave him some money and I said to him as our eyes met, "Sorry, it isn't much."  That's when I saw his two yellow teeth because he smiled at me and said kindly, "That's okay sir.  Thank you very much.  God bless you."  I smiled back, nodded and drove off.

Each time I help, I find myself wanting to do more. It's not so much from a sense of guilt as it is a growing realization that he is my brother.  He is my neighbor.  He is me. 

Peace for real,
Dennis