This past Wednesday after youth was over and the mission trip meeting was done and I had closed up our youth building to head home, I sent a text to Monique to see if she wanted me to stop and grab us a bite. We were both hungry, so we decided McDonald’s would have to do at 9:30 pm. (Don’t tell Aaron at Stafford Boot Camp).

I missed my turn and had to cut through a parking lot, and there, sitting on the curb, I saw him. I could tell from the first glance he was homeless. Two dirty bags were strewn across the ground beside him. I immediately felt like I should get him a bite as well. I just felt horrible about filling my belly and going to a warm home and not at least giving him food.

I got our nugget value meals (is it really chicken?) and a double quarter pounder meal for the fellow I saw before. I had to ask for separate bags and the cashier asked why. I told her what was going on. She left to get another bag and came back with another employee. The new employee asked why I was getting him food. I simply told her, “I’m sure he is hungry. I’d feel horrible not giving him some. God has blessed me. Do you know why?” She said no. I said, “Because he wants me to be a blessing to others.” She almost teared up, and said, “That’s really awesome. Thanks.”

By the time I got back to where I saw the man, he’d started walking. I caught up with him at Taco Bell, rolled down the window, and said, “Hey there, I wanted to give you some food.” He wheeled around and said, Oh my goodness, thank you so much, thank you, I really app…” Then he stopped, took a step closer, and said, “Are you a pastor at a church somewhere? Is your name Joh-  no, Ja-, Jason?”

I mumbled a soft, “Yes,” honestly a bit stunned. He told me he’d spent time at the Highway 80 Rescue Mission, an organization that provides lodging, meals, training, etc. to the homeless, etc. Many from Highway 80 attend NCC where I am youth pastor. It all made sense. I’d met him in the reception room after church one day. I breathed a small sign of relief, because, for a moment, I was pretty surprised.

So there we were in the Taco Bell parking lot, a bag of McDonald’s food between us. He told me he had a friend at the Sunset Inn on 80 that would give him a place to sleep for the night, a hot shower, and a place to wash his clothes. But he was over a mile away and just needed a ride.

I was tired. It was late. My food was getting cold. My wife was waiting for me to get home. If you’re asked to go one mile, go two. I said, “Sure I can do that. Hop in.”

He put one bag in the passenger floor board, his other, bigger bag in the back. When he came back to get in, he looked down, and frantically started searching. I said, “What’s wrong?” He just mumbled to himself, “Oh no my glove. I’m missing my glove. Where did I put it? Did I drop it? Oh what am I going to do? Do you see it? Help me find it.”

I sat there a moment, trying to take it all in. I’ve never been that worried about a missing glove. Then again, I’ve never had to spend the night in the woods behind a supermarket in 30 degree weather. It all became very real to me in that moment. The distraught sound in his voice really hit me hard. We found it about 20 feet back. He’d dropped it.

He got in and we headed where he needed to go. He began to tell me about his life, his 9 years of service in the military, his dumb mistake that caused him to lose his VA benefits, and the felony that landed him in jail. He told me he hasn’t had a drink in forever and has never been into drugs. I believed him. You can smell a drunk, and he didn’t smell of it at all. He even told me – in days – how long its been since he took a drink. It was 3800 something.

We got to the inn and I gave him the little cash I had on me. I never carry cash, but I had a $20, so I gave it to him and told him to spend it wisely. He needed money for an ID card so he could try to get a job. He begged me to pray for him this week, so I said, “Let’s pray now.” I asked God to help him, to bless him, to pull him out of this mess. I asked for a job on his behalf, a place to stay, a brand new start. Then I felt like I should pray about his self-worth, so I did. “God, when he lays down tonight, let him know how much you value him, how much you love him. Let him know he isn’t worthless. Let him feel you so close tonight.”

I said amen, and when I looked up, he was weeping. He turned to me, tears streaming down his face, and said, “Every night I go to sleep, I ask God, please don’t let me wake up in the morning, but every morning I wake up. That has to mean something. That has to mean he has something for me to do, right? But how? Look at how I am now. I just don’t know how. I don’t want a hand out, I just need a hand up.” I was broken. I hurt for him. I secretly asked God again to help him.

We talked for a few more minutes, I tried to encourage him, and then I left him with his friend. I went home and sat in my driveway for a few minutes and cried. I spent that time thanking God for what he’d blessed me with. Not just a warm home or a way to get from A to B, but for a wife who loves me, a precious little girl who thinks I’m the greatest, a family who is there for me no matter what, for friends who genuinely care about me, a church home, not just one I go to, for opportunities he’s given me, and for so much more. For just a moment, I was a part of life that was so different from mine. There’s nothing like that experience to give you a reason to thank God for every blessing in your life. So I did. I thanked God in a way I hadn’t in a long time.

I could have been home 45 minutes earlier that night. But it was worth it. I got to help someone, even in the small way I could. But I also had a moment where compassion and thanksgiving really became real to me.

So, after hearing this, and considering what God has blessed you with, would you take a moment and thank him? We have so much we take for granted, so much so that it is easy to overlook those blessings, or at least take them for granted. But in this moment, we can let God know truly how thankful we are for his blessing, his goodness, his kindness.

He has been good to me. For that, I thank him, but I also realize my responsibility to share his goodness with others. I pray God can use me, and you too, to be a blessing to someone else soon.

1 Chronicles 29:13 …we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

Be blessed…and a blessing
J

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