A Tiny Whisper
08/11/2017 .“Excuse me,” I heard a quivering voice behind me, “do you know the way to the nearest food pantry?”
I turned to look at the person asking the question – actually two people, a young husband and wife, intertwined by both love and hopelessness, barely holding each other up. Their eyes overflowed with profound desperation.
“Unfortunately, I don’t,” came back my reply, a bit too brusque, heavy with frustration at the interruption and mostly uncaring. “I’m from the suburbs and have no idea where any downtown food pantries are located. Sorry.”
That, I thought, would be the end of it, yet something kept me riveted in my spot. The young woman started to explain, “Last night, fire swept through our home destroying everything. Thankfully, our three children were saved, but now we have nothing. We haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday. We don’t know where to go or what to do.” Discomfort stirred in my soul and I am ashamed to admit, it wasn’t for their situation.
My employer gave its employees a half day off every Friday from late May to early September to enjoy the all too brief Chicago summer. This afternoon was my time: window shopping on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. It also wasn’t safe to engage in conversation with strangers – even in the rarified air of this wealthy part of the city teeming with folks scurrying back to their offices after lunch. I wanted to leave, to forget about this unsettling exchange and get on with my enjoyment.
Just as I was about to turn away, I heard another voice…a tiny whisper inside my head. In loving and tender tones, it said, “Give them your money.” I pushed the thought away. But again, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Give them your money.”
I stomped my foot. Silently, my mind replied quick and furious, “No. Absolutely not.” Generally someone who doesn’t carry a lot of cash, I withdrew a number of Jacksons from the ATM that morning in anticipation of exorbitant parking fees. Arriving downtown, I found a spot on the street, meaning feeding the meter a few quarters, pocket change, really. Locking up the car, I was giddy over the savings. And now God was asking me to hand over all my twenty-dollar bills? I was enraged.
During this internal conversation, I kept smiling at the young couple. The faint smell of smoke lingering in their clothes filled my nostrils as their despair began to encircle my heart. “But God…do I have to?”
The Holy Spirit affectionately reminded me, “Who got you that parking spot in the first place?” In that split second, God’s grace taught me what my obstinance refused to show me: God had blessed me to bless them.
I swallowed hard with guilt, immediately got out my wallet, handed over the bills and said, “I don’t know where a food pantry is, but please use this to purchase groceries.”
The moment turned liquid. The couple kept crying and thanking me, saying they would pray God blesses me. I stood there crying in my brokenness, in regret for my stubbornness and disobedience. We hugged and then slowly turned away. I headed one way, they another, still cemented together by our tears.
I mourned for the young couple trying to piece together their lives after such a devastating blow. But I also cried tears of joy for God’s lesson that day. Jesus taught us our hearts are not our own. We were created to give our hearts away to others. God takes the small gift we have in our hands and the love we carry in our hearts and multiplies it by his power.
More than any other time in our world, we need kindness, caring and love. 1 John 3:18 states, “Dear children, let us not love in words or speech, but in action and deeds.” Our world is bruised with division, but each day God blesses us and asks us to reach out to give an intentional gift, blessed grace or simple kindness to those who cross our paths.
Jesus’ mission on earth was larger than any of ours. Yet, he was never too busy to notice. He lived alert, searching among the crowds for that one person who desperately needed his touch. Throughout his public ministry, he saw those longing to be seen, those despairing for love and those who simply needed a word of blessing.
Humanity needs people who can unite, inspire and be agents of positive change. Christians answer this need by living other-centered lives in the midst of this self-obsessed world. Rather than speaking empty words, all we need do is reach into our pockets, give our time and show care for those who need help. These actions reflect the love of Jesus in the gospels.
There are so many demands on our schedules, so many people and activities pressing in, demanding our time and attention. As with me, anxious to enjoy the Mag Mile, we often perceive we are on our way to accomplish something grand. Our Savior calls us to stop and extend love – a part of ourselves to heal or cheer a weary soul.
May you not fall into life’s trap the way my disobedience did. Let’s display Christ’s example by following the whisperings of the Holy Spirit calling us to drop whatever grand thing we thought we were doing to engage with another, to encourage and love them. Let’s stop saying we’ll do it and start loving in action and deed.
Jesus loved those who were hurting, who held no status, who barely existed at the margins of life. Who is that for you?