Jesus, Was That You?

On my way home from work this afternoon I stopped briefly at the grocery store. I picked up a few things and at the register took a small cash withdrawal with my debit card to give me some cash over the weekend. As I approached the exit to the parking lot, I saw him from a distance. Lately, it is not uncommon to see a guy like this standing at a busy intersection with a sign, begging for money. His sign said, "Homeless. Need money for food for my family. Have two kids. Please help."

I pulled up right next to him at the stop sign and reached for my purse, hoping the light would stay red for a bit. I quickly retrieved the money I had withdrawn for the weekend. I tapped my horn and opened the passenger-side window. The middle-aged man came over to the window and smiled at me with a big smile, ridden with spaces where teeth were missing. He looked as if he hadn't shaved in days, and I'm sure his teeth hadn't been brushed in as long. Yet, his eyes were so appreciative and he offered God's blessing to me.

I drove away feeling very close to You, Jesus. I thought of how many disguises You come in every day. I wondered how many times I see You in the day and turn the other way. I felt love for this man who had fallen between the cracks of society; whose luck had somehow failed him. I wondered where he bedded his little family each night, and how he keeps his children warm. I thought about how little I had given him, that it wouldn't even pay for one meal for that family. I hoped in my heart that others would see him and not merely pass him by. And then I prayed, "Jesus, was that You?"