Algebra

As I left church last Sunday morning I came to a light with a homeless couple who are often by my house holding a sign reading, “Lost Home, Have kids, Need money for hotel.” I was pulling into the inside left turn lane creeping up along a long line of cars in the right, as the man started crossing the lane in front of me to a car to my right. The woman had her hand out and as she passed some money she held his hand while speaking to him. I glanced at the bill and noticed it wasn’t a dollar or two they were clasping together, but a $20 bill. She let go and he passed back in front and as I came even with her window I realized it was a single mom from my church.

I don’t know her well at all and only really know her by name and face. I couldn’t even tell you who her kids are, though with me, that’s not really saying much. She and I have quite a few mutual friends and through the grapevine I have heard at some point not too long ago her house burned down. To stack circumstance against her she lost her car some how followed by her job. Since then I have also heard recently she has obtained a new job, a real blessing of a job, and she was able to obtain a car. Rolling to a stop I put my window down and said, “Well done.”

She looked over at me, “it’s what we’re called to do right?”

We finished our brief conversation and I put my window back up. The light changed and we stated to move, further up the road I pull in behind her and notice she has a table fan fastened to her dashboard for days when we are having triple digit weather. I thought to myself, there is a woman who has seen some stuff.

Think about it. Knowing these circumstances, $20 seems like LOADS of money to give away, I’ve never thought to give a homeless family $20. I’ll give a couple of bucks but never have I been compelled to give that much away from the window of my car. My heart is lacking abundance in the moment. I see the single mom as a hero. I have learned in my brief time with the Lord, trust is not something that comes for free. Somehow I had to earn it. I don’t know how to explain it, how do I have to earn my ability to trusting God? It’s one of those things where he confounds our logic and one-and-one doesn’t make two. Trusting God is not just a gifting, it’s something to earn. It comes from really walking through some hard stuff and still standing. When nothing makes sense and all seems overwhelming you stand and trust God has this! Her actions were evidence to this kind of trust working in her life.

Every time I look at the single mom now I see such a woman of abundance. It flowed from her. Even as she looked at me and said, “It’s what we’re called to do right?” She didn’t know who was watching and she did it anyway.

I had one of those really amazing phone calls with Angie, the single mom I wrote about earlier, last night. We were on the phone for hours stirring up our faith and sharing what God was stirring up within each of us. She called me to pray for a girl in our cell group together. As she talked to me about the girl she’s really invested her love on-I thought of Megan. I thought of how passionate about her I am. How much I see the vision of God over her life. As Angie talked to me about the girl I thought about all of us. About how if we all just got passionate about one person in our life, one person that needs to be loved. No matter who you are, or where your life is, there is always at least one person in your immediate world who is screaming on the inside to be loved. Imagine if we all got really passionate about someone, someone other than yourself, and someone other than a romantic partner?

Opportunity is all around us, if we only take the time to look.

Imagine the chain reaction. We could change a generation. You and me and the focus of others, breeding passion to the next, as one by one each finds their place and love is what remains. That’s a BIG picture! Come help me paint it!