We have all seen people who just seem to barely be surviving, and yet their resiliency is amazing. They are people that you see in your neighborhood, in the broader sense, but they don’t actually live near you. They live on the fringes of where most people live comfortably, and yet they seem to continue to survive. Their survival isn’t necessarily a sign that they are thriving, but in their ability to make the best of their particular situation.
These people are truly survivors. They understand exactly what it will take to make it through their day, and so this is what they go after, not a surplus, but just enough. Yesterday, I ran into Kevin. He is someone that I have seen often lingering outside of our church, waiting for a quick word. He is not asking for much, just a dollar, or two, to get a hamburger. His gratefulness is evident, and his response is the same each time. He says, “I will try to pay you back.”
I know what happens to most of us when we leave a person, such as Kevin, and continue along our way. We regret the circumstances that they are in, even if we think that they have caused it themselves, and then we get absorbed in our day. This means that we forget all about them, not intentionally, but it happens.
There are so many people in situations that are far from ideal, and I know that we all have stories about the ones we have met along the way. What is hard is knowing that we can’t change their condition on a permanent level. We can give them immediate assistance, we can offer advice, and we can pray for them. These outward gestures are good and needed. Yet, I think one of the best things we can do for them is to leave them with their dignity.
I will never forget meeting Daniel while Jack and I were traveling in New Mexico. We met him on a very cold day in Sante Fe, and we were able to give him some warm food and drink. When he came over to our table to thank us I will never forget what he did. He reached out his hand in thanks, a hand that had seen challenges living rough as he was, first to Jack and then to me. Jack took his hand warmly, and without hesitation, as if he was a close personal friend. When he turned to me, seeing that my hand was extended, he immediately embraced it as well. He walked away from our table, still homeless, but he walked away with dignity and his honor.
I believe that in the past I have mentioned Daniel. You see, each time I meet another person living on the fringes, I think of Daniel. It is like the Holy Spirit reminds me gently of this young man, his very blue eyes, and his personal courage to reach across to us, and extend his hand in good will.
Matthew 25:35-40 CSB “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.
Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?”
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.”