On the way to pick up Ryan from preschool this afternoon, I passed a beggar on the street holding up a sign reading "NEED FOOD". I am nothing if not a liberal-hearted sucker, and seeing as how he was huddled over and crouched on the ground, I succumbed to my deepest yearnings and pulled into the nearest Wendy's to buy him a meal.
I went on to pick up Ryan first, and as I buckled her into the car, I explained that we were going to make a stop on the way home to give a hungry guy some food. I don' think she quite grasped the situation until we actually stopped and handed the guy his food, to which he glumly muttered his thanks and shuffled away.
As we were pulling away, she meekly whispered, "That was nice, Mommy." My heart soared as I perhaps caught the first glimpse of the spark iginiting in my little social worker's heart, and I seized the opportunity to (say it with me now ) "teach a lesson".
"You know, Ry, Jesus tells us that we should treat everyone as if they were Jesus himself, especially the poor and hungry who have nothing. He wants us to help them the way we would help Him."
"You mean that guy was JESUS?!?"
"No, baby. I just mean we should do for everyone what we would do for Jesus."
"Oh, okay."
I was giving her some time to let it sink in as I made a U-Turn on the highway heading for home.
We looked over at our new friend as we passed by, leaving Ryan wondering aloud, "Why is that poor Jesus-man throwing our food into the woods??"
For once, I was without words.
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
1 year ago
4 comments:
thanks! I just spit my 4th Diet Coke of the day all over the screen ;)
your such a great catholic. thank goodness you are teaching sunday school.
Okay--I am so with you in this dilemma. The social worker in me wants to give them food--because that is what they are asking for, right? What happens when I give them food? They act pissed and/or indignant and want money. What is it about Texas that there are four or five people at every street corner with what purport to be witty signs, hitting me and my family up for money. My husband needs a job--I am about to send him out there. I am figuring that these folks do well for themselves because some of them have better dye jobs than I do...
What I also love about you is that you are like me--the moment you think "Aaaah, I will teach her a lesson..." it bites you in the bahookies. And therein lies the lesson, Grasshopper.
Love your blog--read it everyday. I loved the part about Disney--it made me homesick for Florida. ;)
angie -- you may want to put that sunday school comment on hold until AFTER the year is over!
shayna-- thanks for the compliments! I do have to give kudos to some of them out there with the really great signs. I once gave a bum a 6 pack of beer because that's what his sign said he needed money for; I had to reward the honesty!!
A great story and at least she learned something positive even if the food wasn't appreciated, right?
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