Blessed

Walking out of Target yesterday I was approached by a woman. She followed me to my car as she explained her plight: she was homeless, her dog needed a leash and could I give her some money so that she could buy the leash? At first glance I noticed how dirty she was, her limp and her somewhat desperate tone. Immediately I thought she was probably just handing me a line. But her action of following me to my car while I pushing Little C in the cart made me nervous, and I cut her story off and told I was sure I had some change. I rustled in my purse and pulled out a bunch of coins and dropped them into her hand, conscience that my fingers brushed her dirty palm. I thought that would get rid of her. But she stayed and started telling me she was from Oregon and that she wasn't used to the way things were done here. I tried to be cordial, but I was nervous she was going to do something desperate. So I just smiled and started toward my car. She limped off the walkway and I saw her go for another couple of shoppers. I watched her limp around the parking lot, some people shook their heads, and others simply acted as if simply didn't exist. Then I noticed two men, obviously her companions, huddled on a curb, with a large pit bull, held by its owner by a piece of plastic. Instantly I thought why would a homeless person even have a dog, if they couldn't care for it? Then the thought struck me, that they probably need a dog like that for protection against whatever is out there. I climbed in my warm car and drove away and didn't think about the woman, her companions and their dog until hours later. It was 4:30 in the morning and I was awakened by a chain slamming against my bedroom window. At first I was confused, then scared, then mad. It was the chain to the flower box DH had put up outside of the window for my birthday. It must be windy out there, I thought, and the chain had come loose. I crawled out from underneath my warm covers, slipped on my new winter coat and a pair of slippers and left the room to go outside. DH was there, up for his shift, trying to fix the chain. In the 2 minutes we were outside, I began shivering. It was cold and the wind was brisk and sharp. How grateful I was when he loosened the chain and we retreated into our warm house. As I climbed back under my blanket in bed, I remembered the homeless I had seen that day. What were they sleeping under? How were they staying warm in this cold? Then I thought of the homeless outside of California. How many of them freeze to death each year?
I thought back to a week I spent outside in some of the coldest weather I had ever experienced. I was river guiding. It was early spring and the temperatures in Southern Utah's desert drop close to freezing at night. I had a sleeping bag and a wool blanket to keep me warm. I had no tent. The first night I slept about 1 hour, the whole time moving and trying to warm my body. The next night was a little better. A fellow guide had taken pity and loaned me an extra tent. Still, with only a slip of nylon, the bag and the fleece I was wearing between me and the frozen ground, it wasn't much better. I thought I would die of exposure. How grateful, I thought, I would be the next time I slept in a warm room instead of the bitter cold.
With the holiday season here, I've been dwelling a lot on the fact that we don't have very much. I should put that in what Mr. M calls the sarcastic quotes. In reality, we have been abundantly blessed. It sounds trite to list it, but we have a house, a roof, a heater, blankets, shoes and socks, and jackets. We have food enough to fill our tummies, and so, so, so much more than is ever needed. Compared to the poor souls that either can't or won't help themselves and are left to fend in the cold, harsh winter, I live like royalty. I don't tell you this story to make you feel bad, but maybe to cause a pause and a reflection. Did you ever hear the song from Michael McClean's Forgotten Carols: "Homeless (Like the Christ child was)"? The whole time I was working with the Festival this scripture kept running through my mind: Matthew 25:35, 36: "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." With the world we live in today, we can't do many of those things, but we can be grateful for the abundance we enjoy and help where we can!

My favorite pic from our family Christmas photos.