Surreal things happen to me. Yesterday after work I went to Wal Mart.....I'm in the store walking around with my list and I'm purusing the doggie clothes. I'm in a part of the store that is sort of secluded and this man walks up to me and in a very nice way tells me he needs two dollars and sixty-five cents so that he can buy a gallon of gas so that he can get home. He said he barely made to Wal Mart. I didn't hesitate and gave him five dollars. He thanked me told me his name and asked if there was anything he could do for me. I told him no, but just do something kind for somebody else. He had some change and asked me if I wanted it in return for me giving him the five dollars and I told him no.
At that moment I was struck by the shallowness of my life. I was looking at doggie clothes and somebody needed money for gas to get home. And if God was testing me, did I pass? Why didn't I give him that twenty dollar bill? I had about sixty dollars in my bill fold, why didn't I give him all of it?
Then I left Wal Mart, headed to my uncle's house to pick up his mail......and get this....there was a guy dressed in jeans, a western shirt and wearing a cowboy hat and he was dragging a cross!!! The cross had a pair of small wheels on the bottom and he was going north following the two-lane highway that goes through town.
After I collected the mail, I tried to find him. Sure enough he walked in front of me at the place where I pulled back on the highway. I rolled down my window and waved at him. I felt like I was supposed to do something, but I didn't know what......people had written all over his cross.......I guess the only belongings that he had were in a small backpack.......it was cold last night........I could have given him money for a motel room.
Jesus if I failed you, I'm sorry....
11 comments:
You are a very sweet and gracious woman!! I had something similar happen to me when i was a young waitress in a casino. A man asked me for enough money to buy a hamburger, I bought him a hamburger , a piece of pie, and gave him a few silver dollars, I no sooner walked out in to the slot machine area and I saw him gambling!!! Not the nickels or quarters, the dollar slots... for some it is a very lucrative business. I had an uncle who passed last year, he walked from one side of the US to the other! He was a pan handler as well, this was his job choice. I no longer feel guilty when i say 'no' because i know there are government facilities for such things. Dont ever feel guilty, they thrive on it. He would laugh and say it makes people like yourself feel good about yourself, so why not let 'em? A local panhandler drives a Beemer, and parks it at a local bar down the street!
Ok i've tug on your ear long enough, I am sorry, you seem too sweet to feel guilty,
Hugs,
Jackie
The real needy people don't wander about asking people for money or trying to arose their pity.
Anyway, this post shows you're a kind, unselfish woman ready to help a felloman in distress.
Very well said Duta!!
Angel, you are a kind person. I am not sure if the man was needy or not...but you are a sweetheart for caring.
You know my husband, who is an ex-cop said just about the same thing that you all said...but I'm glad I erred on the side of believing him........
Last Sunday when I was on my way to Birmingham I stopped at a rest stop. Just as I was about to pull out to leave, a man in a red pickup truck with a Texas license plate pulled up--he got out and a well-fed pit bull tumbled out with him. He motioned to me to put my window down (which I can't believe I DID) and he started a long spiel about how he had given a panhandler some money and then later realized he'd lost his wallet and he needed gas money to get to Fort Hood Texas where his son was being deployed out to Iraq the following week. (Yes, Fort Hood.) I sat there listening to him, looking at his nice truck and his well-fed dog and his nice clothes and finally told him that there were people inside the welcome center who could probably direct him to assistance. He didn't go in to ask for help but I saw him get off at the next exit, I guess to solicit someone else. If he really was telling the truth, I hope he got to Fort Hood and I hope his son wasn't involved in what happened there on Thursday. I'm still amazed, though, that he actually thought a single woman with a freaking Chihuahua sitting next to her was going to pull out her wallet in a rest stop parking lot--and that I was so stupid. However, had he been in Wal-Mart, I probably would have given him money just as you did. I'm not going to beat myself up over not giving someone money, though.
it's hard to decide. mostly i get hit on by wild-eyed, fast-talking,jittery types that I figure are druggies. you wouldn't want to pull your wallet out around them.
kudzu/cherry
We are cut from the same cloth on this one. Guilt always wins out and I'm either handing over or praying for forgiveness. LOL! And if I ever make it home with something I didn't pay for, I always have to return it no matter how small...or can't sleep well. I guess I've justified my gullibility by saying they are responsible to the creator for what they do with it. Daddy brought home hobos for dinner a couple of times and I sometimes wonder if that isn't where my wandering nature comes from. Love you!
My, you had quite the day didn't you? Who knows why things like this happen. You are a caring sensitive soul for sure.
Fabulous post, we all need humbling don't we? When I became a Christian I started asking myself whether my purchases would honor the Lord or not, it usually stops me in my tracks!
Thank you for sharing!
And I thought it only happened here!
You are a kind person and I think most of us ion your shoes, in Wal Mart would have done the same.
I have had several experiences. When I first arrived my sympathy for the destitute was evident. There was one particular guy who used to hang around outside my local supermarket. For months I used to give him money until one day someone I knew witnessed what was going on. He told me in no uncertain terms to stop as them man was 'doing drugs'. So the next time, I bought food for him. He cursed me and actually threw it at me! Our relationship after that, was a 'no no'.
Sometimes one just knows when to give and when to withhold. I believe I'm guided by the Holy Spirit.
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