Confession- These pan handlers have had this mamas feathers all kinds of ruffled this week!
So maybe where you live pan handlers are the norm. If you live in a big city you probably pass a pan handler about as often as we pass a church or a BBQ joint here in our small little southern town. These past few weeks have been quite a different story as we have been graced with the presence of a man who is apparently well known as being a scam artist and moves on from one area to another.
It bothered me. I own a small business and work hard to be able to provide for three children and sometimes after paying a big ol’ chunk in taxes things get tight. These scammers are pocketing money, tax free, and quite possibly doing better than I am. How dare they? Over the course of the week I had developed an almost bitter attitude about the subject and I was mulling the situation over in my head as I drove to tackle the dreaded task of grocery shopping.
I’d seen so many posts about the issue with all kinds of opinions and I was really just trying to decide what the “right” thing to really think about it all actually was.
At this point in my life, I think God has finally come to terms with the fact that I need things thrown in my face… subtle hints and nudges aren’t really my specialty. So as I’m unloading the groceries into my car, I see a very hippie looking girl get out of an SUV full of people. The SUV was pulling an old pop up camper. I’m not sure why I even noticed her as she was parked several spaces away from me. The next thing I knew, I realized the girl was headed my way. She walked right up to me and said “Do you happen to have any spare change? We’re just kind of on hard times right now”. In my head I almost started laughing… YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME GOD? Like I said, He knows I don’t get subtle very well.
I scrounged in my purse and found a $5 bill and handed it to the girl. It wasn’t much but it’s what I had on me. As I handed it to her I asked if she would mind if I prayed with her. I wanted her to know that the money wasn’t a conditional gift I would give only if she agreed to pray with me. I was giving her that $5 even if she turned and walked away. To my surprise, she agreed and I reached out to hold her hands as I prayed for her. I prayed that God would find a way to just give her a big hug that day and then…. I thanked Him for placing her in my path. I’m sure she must have been confused but she didn’t let on. She thanked me and went back to her friends and they all waved at me as I left.
Wow. I deal best with black and white answers to things and God sure gave me that one loud and clear. I can’t let my heart be hardened by the scam artists of the world. The Bible is full of stories about Jesus meeting peoples’ physical needs BEFORE He met their spiritual needs. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Maybe you are being given an opportunity to meet a need and by meeting that need an opportunity will be presented to share Jesus or just to pray with someone.
I would have never just walked up to a random stranger in the parking lot and asked to pray for her. BUT because she asked me for help, I was given the opportunity to give her more than just money. Thank you God for giving me that opportunity and opening my eyes and my heart to that.
As a mom, this is what I want my kids to see. I can’t just tell them to share Jesus with others…. I’ve got to SHOW them by doing it myself.