Money Bombs - Part 2
For me, Sabbath is God's date day. So how would you feel if God decided to take you to a coffee shop and a liquor store for your date? Well that's just what happened to me last Sabbath. For some of you, that might not seem like a big deal. However, growing up in a conservative, traditional church, this activity would not be OK. But, God has a way of taking us out of our comfort zones so that we can be the "Body of Christ", the "church", wherever we are. To clarify, I don't drink coffee or liquor. I don't like the taste of coffee and on principle, I don't drink alcohol of any kind. Yet, these two stores were the places that God wanted us to share His love and drop a money bomb.
In Money Bomb - Part 1, I shared how I like to keep a $20 bill in my purse for unplanned opportunities to bless others in need. Well, just a couple of days after posting that blog, another unplanned opportunity arose. But let me start the story at the beginning of the day.
It was a beautiful, sunny, and unusually hot September Sabbath. We had home church and lunch, then drove up to Grand Rapids, MI to the PaLatte coffee shop. PaLatte is the ArtPrize venue where Heather's (my daughter) photographic essay is exhibited that tells her story of overcoming dyslexia, through hard work and lots of prayer. The venue hosted a meet and greet for the artists and ArtPrize visitors. We were impressed that this would be a great opportunity to interact with the people there and share the love of Jesus.
As my husband Bill and Heather talked with the people, I sat at one of the tables to watch and pray. It was awesome! We were able to touch several peoples' lives with our story of how God blessed and answered our prayers through the years. School teachers, couples, a home school family, and college students alike all expressed their appreciation, and thanked us for sharing. The owners of the coffee shop even related stories to us of people coming in prior to that day, being so touched, that they would get teary eyed. What a blessing to help heal the hurts of others. I call this the circle of blessing. God pours His love out on us, we share it with others, others are blessed and that makes God very happy. Which brings me to the liquor store story.
The whole time we had been at the coffee shop there was a constant stream of people. Eventually though, the flow of people slowed down, so I decided to take advantage of the lull. I needed to register at one of the ArtPrize voting hubs in order to vote for Heather's exhibit. The closest hub was just down the street and it would only take a minute, or so I thought.
As I walked to the corner, a young man approached me. He wanted money for hot dogs at the hot dog shop. I told him I would go with him and buy them for him. As we walked, I asked him his name. He said Karen. Oh, the he was a she! OK no problem. Those who identify with one of the LGBTQ letters doesn't bother me. They are all looking for the love of Jesus and don't know it.
We continued talking. I told her about Heather's exhibit and she told me she had a son. She said they were living in a van because the mission was too full. I also asked her what she did and she said she was a panhandler. I don't know if she was telling me the truth, but I decided that since she was honest about being a panhandler, then she might have a hungry son as well. No matter what, Jesus loves her and thinks she's amazing. I told her that too.
If she did have a hungry son I wanted to buy him something to eat as well. So, I suggested we go to a grocery store and get a couple of days worth of food. She said there were no grocery stores close by, but Lucky's was around the corner. Fine, I said, let's go there, thinking that it was probably a little convenience store. As we walked the couple of blocks to Lucky's, I debated in my head whether I was doing the right thing. I didn't know where she was going and to be honest a bit of fear kicked in. But, I also knew that God had probably set this meeting up and I would be fine. After all, we had prayed that morning for divine appointments. So, onward and forward.
Then I saw the sign and realized Karen was taking me to a liquor store! Oh great! I have never been in an inner city liquor store before. My upbringing flashed before me. What would the church saints think, going to a liquor store, on Sabbath, and using my ministry credit card to purchase some food. That was at least three infractions. However, I immediately stopped that line of religious faulty thinking and walked into the store. Hadn't Jesus ate with drunks and hookers?
As Karen and I walked to the back of the store where the food was located, someone yelled out, "Hey Karen, how's your girlfriend?" Karen said she was in jail. I shook my head and laughed to myself. This situation just keeps getting crazier. Then a homeless looking guy says hello to me like he knows me as I passed by him. Karen started picking out some items out of the freezer. There wasn't any fresh food in the store, but I encouraged her again to buy enough for a couple of days. The food was not healthy, but at least they wouldn't go hungry. Then the homeless looking guy, who had followed us back to the coolers, started talking to me again. He had a big smile on his face and was very nice. He didn't want anything but to talk, so I chatted with him and blessed him.
Karen finally made her selections of frozen food boxes and three large flavored water bottles, and we went up front to pay. The check out register area was on a platform surrounded by a protective glass, with just enough room to pass items and money through the window. I guessed that this was probably typical of an inner city liquor store. As we waited our turn, Karen asked me again for some cash. I told her I was happy to buy her some food, but I wasn't going to give her cash. I was pretty sure she had some substance abuse issues and I didn't want to support those issues with cash.
After paying, she thanked me and I told her again that Jesus loves her and thinks she's amazing. She said she had been baptized and had gone to church. As we walked out the door I told her that what I did wasn't about religion or church, but it was about the love of Jesus. We said goodbye outside the store and I told her a third time that Jesus loves you and thinks you're amazing. I hugged her and we went our separate ways.
Walking back to where the voting hub was located, thoughts of "you just got scammed" raced through my head. Maybe she was going to take the food back and get some liquor, or trade the food for drugs. I supposed that could happen, but I had blessed her three times with the name and love of Jesus and He was on the case now. Even though I had spent less than $30 and a few minutes of time, what a privilege and blessing it was to partner with God. It truly is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 25:35). Thank you Lord for an awesome date!
May you be willing to step out of your comfort zone today, to go on an awesome date with God, so that you may be blessed and be a blessing In Jesus Name!
UPDATE: Heather and I were going to other exhibits at Art Prize the following Sunday, a week later, when we bumped into Karen again. She was panhandling and started to ask us for money when she recognized me. She lit up and smiled at us saying that I helped her before. I hugged her and told her how I had told others about her. I introduced her to Heather. She was surprised that someone cared about her and respected her as a human being, not as a homeless person. I reminded her that, "Jesus loves you and thinks you're amazing." Then I prayed for her. While this conversation was happening, I quickly asked God about giving her money. He said no. You gave her something worth more than money. You saw her as a child of God. This is a priceless gift. Thank you Lord! May your love shine through all of us to a hurting and unloved world In Jesus Name!