I have always been a "fraidy cat" when it comes to the least. The folks that hold signs on the side of the road. "Will work for food," or "Need help". I have always thought, what happens if you stop and they are a suspect in a recent robbery. Or worse yet, what if they are some kind of sexual predator? But, then, you think about Jesus saying, "If you do it to the least of these, you do it to me!" So how am I suppose to reconcile the conflicting feelings that I have? Well, in the past, I have always prayed for them. "Lord, please send someone who can help them. Lord, may that person find the help that he or she needs. Lord, help them find work." However, I still had this lingering feeling of emptiness, like my requests and petitions to God were not enough.
Recently, I was leaving the car shop. I had just had a spare put on my car. I was feeling very grateful that I had the resources to take care of my flat tire. Then, I thought about how low my gas tank was. Maybe I should stop by the gas station on the way to school. I turned my blinker on and slowed down. I pulled into the gas station and pulled up to a pump. I got out of the car and put my card into the reader. Swipe. I waited and then was authorized to begin pumping gas. I twisted off the gas cap and placed the gas pump into the tank. I began to fill my tank and I turned around to wait patiently for the pump to click that it was full.
I faced the E/W connector. I saw a Dad and a five or six-year old daughter running across the street with a large plastic oil container in their hand. I watched the Dad. He seemed to stand around the pump, as if what he was doing wasn't enough. His daughter sat on the gas pump island with a head in hands quiet look of despair.
I started to walk over to the dad. "If you will bring your car over here, I will fill it up."
"Thanks," he said.
Then I walked back to my car about the time that the pump "popped" to stop because the tank was now full. So, I sat and waited. I watched the dad and daughter. The dad seemed to have a little spark in his step. He quickly put his daughter in the car. He poured what little gas that he got into the tank and trying to get the car to start. He backed his car up the E/W connector in the right turn lane and signaled to go left. He slowly worked his way to the left turn lane and did a u-turn to enter into the gas station. I waved my hand and he drove up. As he arrived, I saw that he was crying. He thanked me, thanked me, and thanked me again.
He goes on to tell me that he didn't have work. He has been trying to find work. He didn't have money for rent. He had taken money out of the rent to buy food for his kids. His wife works full time and they have five kids. However, they had recently applied for food stamps and didn't qualify. I said, " I may not be able to help you find work, but I understand." I went on to explain how my husband lost his job three weeks before my child was born. I told him not to give up, that God would provide."
About that time, his car filled up. I continued to talk about how he needs to let someone know at the elementary school where his child attends school. I told him that there were resources available through churches near by that could help with the food. I asked him his name. LeRoy Ray. That name will be burned into my memory for a while.
After that incident, I reflected on how I responded to this family. Why did I get involved? I guess God sent me at that moment to share his love to someone who needed a little hope. I pray that LeRoy Ray will continue to get little glimmers of hope until he finds work. I pray that I will have more opportunities and enough courage to continue to help others, the least and the lost as God calls us to do. I also pray that I will have the ability to talk about sharing love with others. This is not because I want to be recognized. This is because I'm not sure how many of our children are seeing examples of helping others.
