Today I did something I rarely do. I stopped for a woman who was waving her arms, trying to flag someone down, along Bronson Boulevard. Although I do not make it a habit of picking up strangers, for some reason I sensed this woman truly needed assistance. So, I pulled my van into a nearby parking lot and opened up the side door. (The kids and I were on our way to church.)
When Leora slipped onto the middle seat, she told me that she needed help and had tried to go to a few other churches that morning, but had found them already closed for the day. I laughed and said that ours was just getting ready to start (we start at 12:15PM). She continued by telling me about how he daughter was recently murdered and her body was dumped in the Kalamazoo river and she was now taking care of her grandkids full time. She had run out of money and did not know how she was going to pay that week’s rent (presently staying at a local not-so-reputable inn) and they needed toiletries and food on top of everything else.
Having served in ministry on the northside of Kalamazoo for a few years now, I am frequently asked for financial help, from bus tokens, to gas money, etc. The Kalamazoo House of Prayer’s policy is to not give out financial assistance, but we direct people to nearby, local compassion ministries (Gospel Mission, Deacon’s Conference, Ministry with Community, Loaves & Fishes, etc. including our home church, Vanguard North, whose building KHOP rents time and space from) that provide free meals, housing, clothing, furniture, and have the means and know-how to provide assistance. And, I know that our KHOPpers often do help with specific needs if they feel the person’s story is valid. Our watch leaders have purchased groceries, bought restaurant meals, paid for bus tokens, and given rides as they have felt led.
But whether or not the story is true is the hard part for me.
Although some people have genuine need, like the grandma who recently needed milk for her young grandkids, there are others that are trying to scam their way into a few extra dollars. It’s not always easy to tell the difference, and I have to be careful to not harden my heart to all requests for assistance. But being scammed is frustrating!
Just this week, I was personally asked for money at least 5 times, three times while out walking downtown, once in a McDonald’s Drive Thru, and one time driving (the situation listed above). After the first two solicitations, that I refused, I asked the Lord for help in discerning His will. When do you want me to give? Every time? Should I always have a dollar ready, Lord? How do I show compassion when I am feeling scammed? How do I discern your will in each situation?
I am not blogging about this because I feel I know the answers to these questions, because I don’t. I am blogging because I am trying to figure this whole thing out. And, I know my kids are carefully watching me. I want to be able to encourage them as the Apostle Paul did to the Corinthians when he admonished them to “follow me as I follow Christ.” I pray almost daily for our family to walk in incredible compassion. And I acknowledge that it makes no sense to pray this prayer and then ignore the ones who are asking for my compassion. God loves everyone, especially the scammers, the drunks, and the high. [Preaching to myself right now.] And He wants me to love them as He loves them. He wants me to see them as beautiful people made in the image of God, people for whom He died.
Back to Leora…. The kids and I brought her with us to church to meet my church family and meet with our pastors and elder to see what our church could do for her. Our church is filled with people who have physically and emotionally survived horrendous life experiences, so I believed she would discover a kinship with those she met. However, we are a very small church without a lot of resources. I told her I could not promise what we could do for her, but I knew we’d help her somehow. Before, during, and after the service, she encountered the tangible love of our church family and more importantly, encountered God’s manifest presence. Jesus knows her, loves her, and wants to heal her pain.
Besides many hugs, conversation, and prayers, Leora was also able to receive rent for the week and a trip to the store to purchase toiletries and food for her family. (She’s already been working through a housing assistance program and is on a waiting list. She just needed short term help.) And, I donated some microwavable soups that I just happened to have in my van. (She told us there was a microwave in their room at the inn.)
Well….I am a work in progress. Teach me, Father, how to see as You see, love like You love, and serve like You serve. Help me embrace these often awkward and inconvenient moments and recognize them as invitations to show someone kindness as You would. Please help me to discern when to financially give and when just to respond kindly. Please help me to always welcome people into my “inn,” the inn of my heart, for by so doing, I know that I am welcoming You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them
for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.’" Matthew 25:40
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