"dirty socks and dead people"

WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, YOU HAVE YOUR OWN AND ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO SHARE THEM. MY THOUGHTS ARE IN NO WAY MEANT TO OFFEND OR INSULT ANYONE, BUT IF THEY DO, YOU'LL GET OVER IT!

We spent the morning not in church, but as a church, spread out all over the city handing out bags of socks, underwear and gatorade to homeless people. It was awesome. I got to chat with Thomas. He sleeps behind the Diamond Shamrock/Benny's Pawn/Traffic Ticket Lawyer's office (All in one building). He's been sleeping there for 7 years. It was about 90 degrees this morning when we spoke with Thomas. I asked him how he was doing, and he replied "I'm Cold" Don't really know if he was serious or not, it was definitely not cold, and it was not cold last night...hmmmm. We offered him our bag of essentials and he graciously accepted. We threw in some smokes, for which he was really happy.

I asked him if he had ever been to the rescue mission and he replied, "NO! That place smells like dirty socks and dead people!" Again, another strange response, but none the less, interacting with Thomas, if even for a few minutes, brought a raw sense of reality with it. We didn't really talk about it in the car...we just continued our search for other potential recipients. For me at least, it was worth the sense of discomfort to grow a little.

It makes me think about how often we are presented with opportunities to truly "live" Jesus on a daily basis. How many times do we stare at the opportunity to portray Jesus to others yet we rationalize it in our hearts. Perhaps its inconvenient, uncomfortable or awkward. Perhaps its just the easiest way out. Whatever the reason we choose not to serve, maybe we should take an extra 30 seconds and consider the possibilities. After all, it could be the 2 min you spend with someone that changes their whole outlook on life. A friend once said this "It's the 1% extra you do, that makes 99% of the difference." Soak that in for a few.

Go out tomorrow and open the door for someone you don't know, let someone in front of you in traffic, smile at a stranger. You never know, ten seconds of your time may change the next 10 years of someone else's life.

Peace