An Important Message

Welcome to Service – The Action Form of Love

Yesterday, my wife and I were driving around. We like to take Sunday drives. We find it quite relaxing to just be with each other and talk.

But yesterday, we saw something new in our neighborhood.

On a little street, behind the Home Depot and Kentucky Fried Chicken, there was an old ragged homeless man, sit-sleeping on an old Coleman cooler. I didn’t notice him or the sign he had propped up, but my wife did.

She made a u-turn in the Home Depot parking lot and asked me for some money. She pulled up to him so that he was on my side, and as we got close, he woke up and stumbled to the car. It was apparent to me that he was dead tired. It was warm out, and as it had been raining, it was also humid. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it must have been there with only a young tree to shield him from the elements.

I rolled down my window and handed him a little something. He smiled big, and said “God bless you.”

I said, “And happy Father’s Day to you, sir”.

His eyes opened a little wider and his smile faded. “It’s Father’s Day? I didn’t know that.”

We assured him that it was and he shuffled back to his makeshift seat on the sidewalk. We drove away and my wife and I talked about how sad it was that the poor gentleman didn’t even know what day it was.

And then, as we drove toward the KFC, my wife surprised me. She made a bee-line for the drive through. She bought him a small lunch and as I looked at her, she appeared to be crying. She told me that it’s been a long time since seeing such a sight had affected her in such a way.

She said she had the strongest impression that she needed to tell the man something. I learned long ago to not deny my wife when she has such impressions, so I stayed quiet as we drove back to find him.

He was asleep again, and this time she approached so that he was on her side of the car. I’m not sure if he recognized us or not, but he again stood and came to the window. I handed the meal to my wife and she passed it out to him.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

He smiled again, showing where two front teeth were missing. “Gary.”

My wife was a little choked up. “Gary, we brought you some lunch and something to drink. I hope you like it.”

Gary seemed very humbled and most appreciative of her gesture. He took the food and was about to turn back when my wife again spoke.

“Gary, I have something to tell you. It’s something I feel very strongly impressed to say.”

Gary stopped and came back to the car. He was listening.

“Gary, God hasn’t forgotten you. He knows you and He’s aware of you, even though it might seem like you’re alone. You’re not.”

That was the message. We again wished him a happy Father’s Day, and we drove away.

With that, I’ll get to today’s challenge:

Someone needs to hear something you have to say today.

It could be a coworker.

It could be a friend.

It could be a family member.

Or, like in my wife’s case, it could be a stranger.

Deliver the message. Today.

That’s all there is to it.

Thank you for reading and accepting today’s challenge.

Thank you also for being willing to spread my message to others. Thank you for retweeting, forwarding and linking back to this post. Someone needs it, and you help them hear it.

And, as always, thank you for remembering that Service is The Action Form of Love.

James