Most of my friends will tell you I am a bit of a cynic (what GenXer isn’t a bit of a cynic) but I had to share a story from my softer side. Maybe it will motivate you a little…or you may think I am naive and silly. But last night I was helping Heather (one of my assistant photographers) take some old film developing equipment to her house. As we drove along 202 I saw this man riding a bicycle along the road with a large sign on it which I couldn’t see well enough to read.
He looked homeless and the bike was towing a caravan of stuff. I then was able to see that he had another bike a few hundred feet behind him. I quickly realized that he was riding one bike forward a few hundred feet, then walking back to his other bike, and repeating this to move along. After we dropped the equipment off at Heather’s house I drove home and sure enough he was still peddling along. Although he had only moved about a quarter of a mile in about 15 minutes.
This time I was able to read the sign he had on his bike. It read “Homeless artist…” and went on to mention other facts about who he was. There were art pieces hanging from the side of the bike that he was trying to sell. So I decided to run home and grab some supplies for this man and the rolled spare change that has been sitting and collecting for probably a few years.
When I pulled along side of the man I didn’t ask his name but only if I could give him some supplies. His response was just that he could use a few dollars. So I gave him the bag of change and he accepted some Gatoraid to help his energy level. He thanked me, asked God to bless me, and said “I love you”. My point is not to give people that are needy something…or to say look what I did…but to stop and think.
How many paychecks are you away from that same situation? What if two months went by with no paycheck and the mortgage and car payments to make. Why is this man in the situation he is in and not me. There are many times I see a person in a situation like this and it brings tears to my eyes. Of course I rely on the fact that God has a purpose for everyone and this homeless person is loved by God…and despite knowing the depths of my heart God loves me as well.
We are not that much different and maybe doing a little thing here or there can make a difference in someone’s life. As Ferris Bueller famously said…”life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look once in a while, you might miss it”. A lot of people zoomed by my homeless friend last night…they missed it. Don’t forget to stop once in a while and see life and what you can do to make a difference.
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