'Tis the Season for Giving

I am ashamed to admit I am one of those people who pretends not to see the homeless person on the corner as I drive by... It makes me feel awkward. I was reminded today that this entirely the wrong spirit to have. I realize I can't help everyone, but today, Carrie and I helped one woman.

There is a woman who stands on the same corner in the Wal-mart parking lot every day and has for at least the last month that I can remember. Because of dumb "right turn only" exits, the only good way out of the parking lot towards home is right by this homeless woman. And there's a stop sign at her corner so you can't just drive by. Every time I make a trip to Wal-mart (which I've taken for granted lately) I have to drive by her. And every time, I try to look the other way and pretend I didn't see her so I won't be "obligated" to feel bad if I don't help.

The last few times I've passed her, I've wished I had a granola bar or something like that to give her, but I haven't. I've never actually read her whole cardboard sign (because I was too busy looking the other way), but I'm pretty sure the top said "Homeless, Hungry".

Today I made a decision as we passed her going in to Wal-mart. Instead of wishing I had something lying around in my car, why not pick up a couple things while I was grocery shopping? So we did just that. A few bananas, some granola bars and fruit juice. It only cost me about 6 dollars. Not that we're rolling in money, but as far as I could calculate, we have a lot more than she does.

After putting our groceries in the car, I walked over to her holding Carrie. She was sitting down, looking the other direction. As I walked up I said "Merry Christmas" and put the grocery bag on the ground next to her. She turned around and said "Thank You". I was slightly out of my comfort zone, so I smiled and started to walk away. After we'd gone a couple steps, she said with a smile, "Your baby's cute, she looks just like you".

I realized Goodness gracious, she's just a woman! She's not scary! We turned back around and Carrie smiled at her. We again wished her "Merry Christmas" and she said a little more energetically this time, "You too, Thank you very much". Carrie waved goodbye, and we walked back to our car to drive home to our luxurious, warm 2 bedroom apartment full of "stuff":

~Closets and dressers overflowing with clothes
~Beautiful Christmas tree and other decorations
~TVs, movies, computer, internet, cable
~Comfortable furniture and beds
~Fridge and pantry full of food (not to mention the extra shower we don't use that is currently serving as a storage unit for tons of food storage)
~Presents under the tree
~The feeling of having a "HOME"

Oh, how we are blessed. I wish it didn't take such an experience to remind me of how many blessings we really have. MERRY "CHRIST"MAS everyone!