We debated on even doing this blog post, because the last thing we want is for our efforts to come across as self-serving, or to be a "look at what we did". This isn't about us. This is about serving, spreading the good news of God's love and taking all the blessings we've been given and spreading them to those who aren't as fortunate as we have been. Ultimately, we decided that we should show what we were able to accomplish with a little help and show what the donations and help went towards. Initially, we had planned on handing out some turkey sandwiches (since it was Thanksgiving), but after consulting with the woman who heads up our church's homeless ministry, we decided against food. This is the one day out of the year that they actually DON'T need food, because of the numerous shelters/ministries that were handing out food today. So we decided to get things that might be helpful in the upcoming cold weather.
Beth stopped over at Harbor Freight and found that they had gloves, 6 pairs for about $5. So she grabbed all 13 packs that they had in stock. Getting up to the register, the cashier asked why she was buying what amounted to 156 gloves, so Beth told her of our plans to hand them out the following day to any homeless people we could find. The total should have been over $70, but the cashier said "$29.53". Beth questioned this, and the cashier responded "if you're doing all this, this is the least I can do to help." So to the Harbor Freight cashier - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without even asking and purely out of the goodness of your heart, you managed to make what money we had go over twice as far. After a couple trips to Costco, Walmart, and Harbor Freight, we were set.
We managed put together 30 bags filled with: a fleece blanket to help keep warm in the upcoming months, a couple pairs of gloves, a pair of socks, 4 pairs of hand warmers, a liter bottle of water, and some heavy duty garbage bags to keep their belongings and themselves dry in the freezing rain that is called for in the forecast.
Thursday morning arrived, and we headed downtown and met up with some friends from church, David and Chris. Unfortunately, it was raining, which meant that people had understandably taken shelter from the weather. Undeterred, we loaded up a borrowed wagon (thanks Sarah!) and started walking. Due to the weather, we had quite a difficult time even finding people. Through the first 90 minutes, we had handed out only 3 bags. We hoped that this was not a sign of the things to come. Fortunately, the rain let up for a couple of hours and we were able to find more people in need. Every homeless person that we came across, we gave them a bag, talked with them a bit, and most importantly - prayed with them. We had various requests, from getting an apartment to simply praying for good health. No matter what prayer requests anyone had, we asked for God's blessings upon them, and to let them be a light unto others that they may encounter; to know that despite their circumstances, that there is a God who loves them unconditionally and with no strings attached.
About halfway through the morning, Chris made a remark of "Hopefully we give away the last bag to the last person we see". Sure enough, God took care of it. We were getting close to the end of the bags and getting close to the time that we needed to leave due to family obligations. So we decided to load up the last 5 bags we had and walk around one more block, and anything we had left over, we'd give to the church to give out. Almost immediately, we found a woman who was very grateful for the gifts. That left us with 4 bags. And as sure as I sit here writing this - we had no more than turned around that we came upon 4 homeless people walking by.
To everyone at work who donated: I can not thank you enough. Thank you for helping those who are nowhere near as fortunate as we are. Thank you for helping and being part of something bigger than ourselves. It's very easy to get caught up in material possessions and always want more. We need to realize just how good we have it, and just how much worse it could be. We met people today who literally carried everything they owned in a coat pocket. It's enough to make us realize how petty we can be from time to time. It's hard to worry about keeping up with the latest technology/fashion when you talk with someone who doesn't even have a change of clothes to their name.
To Chris and David: Thank you for your help. Both of you have a gift of being able to connect with and talk with anyone at anytime. I have zero doubt that the two of you will use that gift to spread God's love and the good news of what awaits us beyond this temporary stay on Earth.
To my wife: Thank you for running around to all the different stores on zero notice and getting everything that you possibly could and being on board with this admittedly poorly planned endeavor. Without your commitment, absolutely none of this would have been possible. Your heart is 100% devoted to God and an example that we could all learn from.
Last, but certainly not least: Thank You to my God, my father. In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Thank You for the opportunity to spend our morning spreading not only Your word and Your love, but Your blessings as well and I pray that You will lead those whom we served today to be an example of what faith in You can do. I pray that everyone we encountered knows that they are never alone because You never let go, through the calm and through the storm. I know that this world is not our home, and that our reward awaits us in your court.
I know how easy it is to feel that the world is unfair. We don't think we get what we deserve. And that is 100% true. In the words of Relient K - "The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair". No matter what you might feel like you deserve, remember one thing - Romans 5:8 "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Life isn't fair - but it isn't fair in our favor.
Things could always be better. After today, I realize that things could absolutely be much, much worse.
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