Read a wonderful story this morning. It is a excerpt from a book "Moments of Grace" written by Patrice Gaines. it is one of the many introspective accounts from this book, in which she attempts to reach out to those around her.
The story can be long but do read it to the end. It is very touching! =)
The story can be long but do read it to the end. It is very touching! =)
I was sitting on a park bench at lunchtime when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a homeless person, a young man who looked to be in his mid-20s.
My first thought was "Don't walk over there." Then I decided,"If he comes, I'm going to talk t him like he is just another person, not like he is homesless."
The guy came over, of course. I smiled. He saw my braces and flashed a big smile with the worst-looking mouth I've ever seen. His teeth were yellow and brown, terribly strained, and he had some kind of thick wire acorss them.
"These aren't braces," he said, laughing. " A man punched me. We were arguing. He broke my jaw. I had to get it wired."
"Sounds painful," I said.
"Not anymore," he said. "That's whyI didn't go back to the hospital."
"You should get it checked," I said, wincing not only from thoughts of pain but also because he smelled pretty bad. But I composed myself, remembering my promise.
"Would you have any money to help me buy lunch?" He hestitated a second, then pointing to a vending truck, he added : "I'm going right over there to buy a hot dog."
He was probably used to people thinking he was begging for money to buy liquor or drigs. I gave him a dollar. Before he walked away, his personality changed. "I believe I could change my life for you," he said, flirting.
"Don't change for me. Change for yorself," I said, quickly slipping into one of my philosophy speeches.
"Oh, don't do that to me," he said, serious again.
I quickly understood. He just wanted to be a "regular" guy flirting with a woman, For a split second, I considered how long it must have been since a woman on a street just let him be a regular guy and had not been offended by his come-ons.
I gave him the pleasure of a return flirt. "I bet you would change for me," I said.
After a while, I saw the guy walk over to a bed of flowers, bend down and pick some of the flowers. I looked up to see him standing in front of me with his hands behind his back.
"Promise not to laugh at me," he said. "I would never laugh at you,"I said.
He pulled the bonquet of flowers from behind his back and handed them over to me.
"Th-th-this isn't much,"he said, stuttering for the first time, "Y-y-you're a nice lady."
"Thank you," I said, rising to leave. "It's not for the dollar," he said. "Anyone could give me a dollar."
He must have had second thoughts because he said to himself, though loud enough for me to hear :"She'll probably throw them away.:
I turned to face him,"I would never throw them away. If I didn't want them, I wouldn't have taken them."
He winked and as I crossed the street, walking away, he yelled,"I'd give up liquor for you,girl! I'll chnage my ways!"
I used to think that you had to give money to be rewarded for your giving. I ignored the importance of giving time. But since then, I have discovered that sometimes your time is of greater value to those who need help than your money could ever be.
Personally, I am touched by this story because what the homeless man needed most was not just money but the fact that someone gave him TIME and also gave him DIGNITY and RESPECT as a person.
There are times when I would give advice to people in need or in trouble. Yet after reading this story, I realise that maybe they heard all the advice people had been lecturing them about. What these people need is not for someone to treat them as a "wrong-doer" or "criminal" but for someone to make them feel that you care for them as a person and instead of making them feel "condemned" and "unworthy" to restore them and tell them that they are forgiven and worthy.
