Opus 2026-183: On the Street: The Old Cane Trick

I must admit I fell for it.  You might recognize it as the old dropped hanky trick.

I was in the waiting room of the physical therapy center where my wife was getting treatment.  I had my I-pad and a number of things I wanted to write.  I was typing away.  Off to my rear was a wheelchair bound lady who I could see had drawn a total stranger into a dynamic discussion of nothing.  My main concern was that I might not be able to concentrate over their voices.  Little did I know.

I was making progress when the current victim made her escape.  The chair bound woman must have looked around for fresh meat.  She saw me and decided she would appeal to my sense of chivalry.  She dropped her cane.  After a moment’s consideration I decided to get it for her.  It was like the fly in a Venus Fly Trap.  Chomp.

Her icebreaker was to ask me if I knew what a “hussie” was.  I should have answered, “Someone who tries to engage a strange man in conversation by asking him that question.”  I restrained myself and settled down to being polite to a very self-centered extrovert.  She knew I was writing.  She asked me about it and complemented me on my creativity.  She was also hard of hearing so any possible dialogue was off the table.

I kept waiting for her to be called into therapy or have someone come to pick her up.  I waited in vain.  Eventually my wife rescued me.  Even the knowledge that I had to go did not slow her down.  Eventually I adopted her condition of being hard of hearing, waved and walked away.

Was she just a lonely old lady?  It could be but if she is the reason would be found in the fact that she was totally aware only of herself.

Next time I will know to ignore the cane.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-52: Mercy Strikes a Blow

Nobody knows the original source of “Know thyself.”  It is still good advice.

One of my weak points is a lack of the spiritual gift of mercy.  I know it.  Sometimes I joke about it.  I know my Bible and myself well enough to recognize it as a weakness.  That doesn’t mean that I have any need to become an emotional basket case.  It does mean that I need to be aware of my lack and compensate for it.

One way is to encourage others in the body of Christ who have the gift.  Let them be what God has made them.  That is the easy part.

The hard part is fighting my tendency to always assume that people need correction rather than encouragement. 

The Holy Spirit cut through my crust this week.  I was getting out of my car at Panera for my morning time of worship and preparation.  A truck pulled up next to me and two young guys got out.  They were obviously going to be working hard that day.  As I followed them I noticed a woman begging at the door.  One of the men walked on by but the other stopped, listened to her a moment, pulled out his wallet, handed her a five, said a kind word and went on in.  She went in and got something to eat.  I noticed that she stopped several times to thank the young man who had helped her. 

That picture has been in my mind all week.  What would I have done?  I generally don’t give out money.  I probably would have invited her in and bought her breakfast.  If I had been in a hurry I would have been polite but not giving.  I have no problem with that.  Maybe I should.  What God was speaking to me about was the attitude I would have toward the person begging.  I would be judgmental no matter how polite I was. 

A couple of quotes come to mind.  It would be good for me to remember, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”  That is doubly true in this day when the economy is so bad, health care is crumbling and so many are out of work.  I am truly blessed and I should be more willing to share that blessing. 

The second that I came across today in my study are the words of Jesus.  You can read the entire teaching in Matthew 25 if you want but the verse that hit me the hardest was the negative statement?

(Mat 25:45 KJV)  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

How often has it been what I did not do that causes me to be disobedient?  I have a million excuses and some logical arguments.  I am not sure that Jesus will be impressed.

Today I need to begin to put this in motion.  I need to be more merciful without giving up wisdom and discernment.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-112, Win/Win/Win

Recently, as I was getting into my car outside a bakery where I had eaten my two slices of bread and drank my coffee, a fellow hit me up in the parking lot for food.  I don’t give money out but I am willing to help with hunger.  Often they will turn down the offer of food because that is not what they really want.  This guy did not bat an eye when I offered to buy him something.  So I took him in and bought him a power sandwich and a large coffee. 

I had no problem with what I did.  He was hungry, I am blessed.  I did not really have time, but I took it anyway.  I got to thinking, after the fact.  Why was I buying a sandwich for this guy when I was not willing to spend that much money on myself?  This was a question of stewardship, not his need for food.  I got to thinking about the things I keep in the car for snacking.  I realized I could have fed him with food that was just as nutritious without walking away from my car.

This stimulated another thought.  Many of us plan for emergencies by having food on the shelf.  We are ready if things go down for a few days or weeks.  It is part of who we are.  One of the issues we face is rotating.  Food and other supplies often come with expiration dates.  Whether it is real or just applied because the federal government says to, it is there.  It occurred to me that we can kill two birds with one stone.  I can take the things getting old on the shelf, still edible but getting close to expiration, keep them in the car and give them out to people in need.  This could apply to all kinds of things from canned tuna to water.  I could supply their needs, not their wants.  It would use items needing to be rotated.  It would save money.  This is not just a win/win, but a win/win/win.

Would it work or it just one of those stray thoughts that keep popping up?

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-279, Pumice Proverbs: Sticks and Stones

I have a number of sayings I put on my notebooks at school to try and make the kids think.  Some are totally original.  Some are inspired by students.  Some are simply quotes from the Bible.  I thought I would share a few of them with you. 

Here is the first one I came up with.

Sticks and stones
May bread my bones,
But words impair my healing.

homo unius libri