They got a bus ride, I got a blessing..........

Has everyone else had "cabin fever" this week because of the weather? I have.
I am not one to go out and do a lot of shopping. I hate shopping. I always know what I am going for before I go, I go get it, and then I come back home. However, after being in the house all week because of the ice/snow storm and chilling cold, I was looking forward to getting out and doing my errands today.

As I was coming out of the mall entrance at TJ Max, I woman stopped me. Before she even opened her mouth, I had a gut feeling what she was about to ask me. Politely, she said, "Mam, I need $2.00 so that my husband and I can ride the bus back to the homeless shelter. When it gets over 32 degrees they won't let us stay there during the day and we don't have the money to get back there tonight."

I looked in my wallet, the smallest thing I had was a $5 bill, so I handed it to her. I have done this type of thing many times before, but I think I have always avoided looking into the person's eyes. I am not sure why, maybe out of guilt, (that I have, and they don't) or out of embarrassment (for them, not me). But, today was different.

As I was handing her the money, and both of us had our hands on it, our eyes met. She said, "God bless you." I just smiled at her and walked away.

Out of that transaction, she got a way back to the homeless shelter for the cold night ahead, but I got so much more. It was a feeling of comfort, a feeling I can't explain.

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,

 for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to

 angels without knowing it.

( Hebrews 13:1-3)

Did I look into the eyes of an angel? I don't know. Did I have an overwhelming feeling of comfort and peace, yes.

On the drive back home, I stopped to talk to God.

• I was fussing because I had to buy a new rug to go at the door coming in from the garage, because of all the dirt that gets tracked in, while she was cheerful at having the fare needed to ride the bus back to the homeless shelter!
• I had been complaining about having to stay inside my WARM home all week, while this woman and her husband have no home. 
• I drove a car that is equipped with heated seats and a heated steering wheel around town to do my errands, while they sat in the mall to stay warm, until time to go back to the homeless shelter for the night.

Forgive me, God. Forgive me.

So, to God I say "forgive me", and to my pastor, Dan Williams, I want to say "thank you". Thank you for  stressing to us all year about how much we need to help others. Thank you for telling me that I can hear Jesus' voice through others, Jesus Voice , thank for you telling me that I am crazy if I think I can't help, I can't do much, you gotta be crazy!, and for the wonderful series on Too Dark to Sleep.

I have been hearing what you were saying, and I do have a burden, Vision and Burden. As you wrote, "God is looking for people who will take His VISION and have a burden to get it done. We cannot do it without God and He chooses not to do it without us."


(Links above are to Bro Dan's blog, please read!)