His Name Is Jefferson...

Didn't have my camera with me tonight, so let me see if I can paint you some sort of picture through my words of what knocked me to my knees this night.

Karen and I had run to town to get groceries, which by the way is a WHOLE new experience in and of itself attempting to buy groceries for 10 growing kiddo's for a month. GOODNESS!!! I think the people at PriceSmart thought really are you serious as we pulled the third cart through. So we did groceries tonight in a BIGGGGGGGGG way!! :)

Then we're heading back through the city on our way home and stopped at a traffic light and it's probably 8:30 or so by this time. Dark outside and rainy and cold tonight. Up to my window comes this 10 year old little boy who looks pretty disheveled and more than a little high from the all too familiar coke bottle filled with glue that they sniff to numb the pain of hunger. From whatever gas station he'd stolen it from, he had the treasure of a windshield washer, and on my side window because he couldn't reach my front one, with a totally dry washer and in no sort of pattern he starts moving it across the window hoping that by his act of service I will feel compelled to pay him. Then he peers his sweet little eyes into the van trying to see who is in there. I roll my window down, cause God and I had a moment the other day, where I feel like I heard in a very loud voice, "we're done with turning our heads young lady, you do anything but turn your head. We've got enough turning our head in the world and you will not add to the crisis of that. So you look at them, you really look at them, at least give them the courtesy of that." Been a different RAW heart inside this girl since then. Anyway, I roll my window down expecting to give him 10 limps perhaps to make myself feel better, perhaps to ease my conscience, perhaps well perhaps just because my heart hurt for him. In the stretching of my hand to give him the ten lemps which is about 50 cents in American money, I looked into his eyes and heard his teeth chattering. Looked down at his feet and standing there in the middle of the wet road he had no shoes on, a tattered t shirt, a pair of pants that had holes in them, and he was cold. Really cold. Wet and cold. In a desperate look and a sad voice he said, do you have any clothes in there. We didn't, not his size, not the right color, not any of that.

In one of those moments though that you know isn't you, God said Jen take off your jacket. So tonight some 10 year old little boy is walking around a street in Honduras with a white girls jacket that is 4 sizes too big, that tomorrow will be black with dirt, but for tonight as I took it off and wrapped it around his shoulders, and his face lit up with an ear to ear smile, I was reminded of how little of me I really willingly give away. 10 limps was easy, my $20 jacket was pretty easy in reality. Made all the difference in the world to a cold little boy in a street tonight though. I'll be very honest with you and tell you I don't always show up for those moments and walk them out well. So this isn't about Jen's good deed for the day. It's way more than that.

It's about a little boy who was walking the streets while your children were tucked into warm beds tonight, who will wake up tomorrow with choices of which shoes to put on their feet, and more choices of outfits than we dare to count. It's a plea for prayer for the Jefferson's of the world who scrape windows in the dark to try to get food. It's a reminder of what goes on in other parts of the world, because I didn't know until I got here...and if I don't share what God teaches me while I am here, I am the very worst kind of selfish!

Oh Father, sometimes I give so little. I hoard so much. I don't look, I can't see, I forget or I'm just too caught up with me to notice. Then in those rare moments of life you take an ordinary day and you place desperation right in front of my face and out of necessity I remember everything I have is yours and you didn't give me an option, you told me to share it. Something in that moment reminds me that this is what you made us for. To love You and love others out of that and even in the ache of moments that scream NEED and spotlight my inadequacy to fix the injustices of the world, I am so thankful that You continue to teach me and grow me. Please Father release this grasp on anything that doesn't honor or glorify You. Help me to use every single thing You've given me to help grow Your kingdom. I thank You tonight for Jefferson and his sweet little face and his place in Your world and His call to my heart to remember that I so desperately want to live with a kingdom heart. Keep him safe Father, and could You keep him warm tonight please. Send someone to rescue him so that he might not spend another night attempting to clean windows for enough money to eat.