What if this happened to you?

What Would You Do?

What would you do if this happened to you? My husband and I were on our way home, and we had just enjoyed a nice meal at a Vietnamese restaurant. It was a cold freezing night in early December. In the back seat was a large sack of takeout food that was still warm from the Vietnamese kitchen. Rounding the corner, we decided to stop at a shopping plaza to pick up an item before it closed. The windshield wipers were racing furiously across the windshield. It was raining hard, and we could barely see a thing. Suddenly, we saw a homeless man in shaggy green army fatigues and a backpack staggering across the asphalt parking lot in front of our car. He had a limp in his left leg, and he was attempting to reach the curb amid all the car lights in the freezing rain. It was clear he was struggling to make it to the curb. And it was obvious he was tired and worn out from a long and wearisome day in the cold weather and freezing rain.

Think About it a Moment...

It pained both our hearts to watch the man as he almost tripped on his way to reach the long row of stores. The smell of the warm spring rolls in the back seat wafted through the air in our car. We watched as the man slowly reached the curb. I couldn't help but picture an image in my mind. An image of the homeless man sitting alone in the freezing rain in a lonely-looking closed shopping plaza in the dark. The image of him refused to leave my mind, and it haunted me. In fact, it haunted both of us, because my husband was thinking the same thing. We both felt spoiled. So, we felt compelled to turn the car around and go back and to ask the man if he was hungry. And we were quite sure he was.

When we arrived at the plaza, all the shops were closed along the rows of the dark shopping plaza, which pained our hearts even more. That's when we spotted the homeless man. He was a few shops down on the left. He appeared to be in his late 30s, and he was leaning against a wall of one of the closed stores. He looked tired, and his head was drooping down. Approaching the man with the warm sack of springs rolls and dipping sauce, he appeared kind and willing to receive us. We asked him if he would like some Vietnamese spring rolls, he replied shyly, "Yes, thank you. I am a Vietnam vet. I used to enjoy those very much when I was in the service in Vietnam." What a surprise, and what a coincidence! The man was thrilled to receive the sack of food, and we were more than happy to give it to him. We both felt thankful for our own lives as he gently reached out and accepted the sack. With gratitude in his eyes, he said, "Thank you again", and that's when we noticed he looked tired, but how old was he? Was he really in Vietnam? He seemed sincere. And what difference did it make anyway?, we both decided. It was nice to see the smile on his face as he sheepishly took the sack with grace in his eyes.

Three Weeks Later....

On a freezing cold night in December, we were sitting in a church service on a Wednesday night. I always tried to be faithful and attend church when commitments and the weather permitted. Suddenly, the pastor's attention was drawn to the back of the church. As I turned around to see what the commotion was all about, it appeared the man in the same green army fatigues with the green backpack was sitting in the last pugh of the church. My heart skipped a beat, and I felt surprised and somewhat filled with wonder as I looked back at him with confusion. "What's the commotion all about?", my husband whispered. That's when I noticed the man's green army backpack was sitting on the floor by his legs. "Gosh, that looks like the same guy", I said, "the homeless man from Missouri!" Then my husband turned around and surprisingly, he nodded his head in agreement and said, "It does, doesn't it?" But then we noticed something very disturbing. The homeless man was being ushered out of the service and to the front door by a member of the church as he was being asked to leave. The pain in the man's eyes from refusal was tear-jerking. You could see the disappointment on is face as he was cast out into the cold freezing December night to fend for himself.

Fury welled up in my face. After all, isn't that what a church was supposed to be all about? To welcome strangers? To comfort the poor and the sick? To give of our hearts to others when they are in need? To spread the warmth of a kind heart to someone who needs it the most? He wasn't hurting anybody, he was just sitting quietly in the warm church pugh listening to the sermon. What is it all about anyway if it isn't about everyone? Isn't that the point?

That is the Point, Isn't It?

There is a saying, "Things happen for a reason." Do you see a reason this happened? Would it bother you? Isn't the feeling of being wanted and accepted by all people for who they are and giving them a chance the point? Shouldn't it be a priority in our lives not to judge others? Isn't love and acceptance, forgiveness and mercy, part of being decent? Who knows what the homeless man's story was. Who knows what tragic circumstance had forced him to sleep another night in the freezing snow and rain feeling alone and forgotten on a cold December night.

This is a true story. It happened to me. It touched me deeply, and I have to admit, I quit the church over it. l found the truth in my own spirit and in my faith. The man could have been anyone. He could have even been an angel. Who knows? Maybe it was some kind of revelation that God visits us to see if we have charity in our hearts through the simple eyes of a homeless man. A mysterious part of the story is, I could never figure out his age.

What Would YOU Do?

I'll leave that up to you. I told you my story and it still haunts me to this day. I will never forget the homeless man's eyes. They were deep and piercing when he looked into mine as he received the sack. I felt a sadness and a comfort at the same time. His ragged clothes and long beard were only a covering of the experiences this man had in his life. I only know one thing; you never know who someone is. Maybe someday you will find yourself in the same situation. What would you do?

Have a wonderful day everyone at WA. Let me know what you would do if it happened to you. :)