It's been one of those days where the heart strings are being tugged hard. I experienced yet another in a growing collection of encounters that leave me wondering. So, I'll just share.
For about the 4th time in the past year, I have had an encounter with a homeless person. I have already written about one such encounter with a man on a street corner in Richmond here. One time I was approached in a church parking lot (the person wanted to know if the church had a food bank) and one time I was approached in a strip mall parking lot by a woman who needed a place to live. They all caught me off guard and they all left me wondering afterward what I could have done differently.
Today's encounter seemed to be an extension of the previous ones. A woman was sitting in an intersection near my house - a place where I have never seen a homeless person before. She was on the inside barrier, and my car stopped at the light to where I was literally eye level with her. Sigh. I knew what I needed to do - but this time it was not as much a dilemma as it had seemed on those earlier times. I rolled down my window and handed her whatever cash I had on hand (I was literally on the way to the bank so the sum total was only about $10). I told her I'd pray that her situation improved, and I asked her if she had tried out local shelters or the county for assistance. She said yes - but the main issue was no one would take her AND her cats. (yes, I know....what the ???) She was well spoken and indicated she knew quite well that many people did not understand how she would sacrifice her own well being for a bunch of animals. Then she said, "those cats have been there for me when no one else has, and I am not going to leave them now".
wow. I honestly did not know what to think. I have not had a pet since I was a kid, but I know a lot of folks who would feel the same way about their pets. I told her that I could understand, and that I hoped something worked out. Then the light turned green. As I drove away I actually figured she would use the money I gave her for cat food. And I was OK with that.
How are these people ending up in my path lately? I have said before - really - I am NOT that person who talks to homeless people. But here I am talking to them?
SO - here is what I think I might have learned so far from these encounters:
1) It's gotten easier every time. Maybe it's cause I don't want the guilt of having ignored another human being, but with each encounter it has seemed more like the right thing to do and less "risky". I would not have thought that ones needs "practice" for this type of thing - but maybe we do.
2) Each time I have wondered about what I might do differently - and this last time I actually followed thru on that. When I asked her if she had looked into where to get help - that was something I had thought of only after he fact when approached by the woman who need a place to live. SO, maybe the practice pays off?
And I still wonder what I might have done differently. One thing - I really should have asked her name...maybe next time I'll remember. In the mean time, now I have added "woman on the corner" to the "man on the corner" as folks to pray for.
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