This evening I drove my dad to a meeting that was held in the downtown area of the city. Since the meeting was about 2 hours long, I decided to stick around and do a little shopping. I hadn’t really explored downtown in many years. I drove slowly down one of the main streets and looked from side to side to see what kind of interesting shops there were. What I saw was restaurant after restaurant. I took another street and found banks and businesses. There actually was a store or two intermingled. There were also several places where groups of people were just hanging out. I decided to head to another vicinity to see if I could find what I was looking for. At dinner, my mom and dad told me about the problem the downtown area is having with homeless people. We talked about how people are homeless for different reasons – addiction, mental illness, by choice, by chance, etc. And we talked about the difficulty of trying to give assistance to so many for so long. I thought about all the times I was approached by people looking for help while I was working for a church. I found myself alone quite a bit on the weekends and evenings – setting up for events, cleaning up after events and such. For some reason, this is when people would come around. I encountered people who were young, old, of different nationalities, men, women, singles and families. I learned many things through these chance meetings. I learned not to pass judgment on people. I expanded my understanding of the human condition. I realized that everyone has a history that I don’t know about and some of that is reflected in the few minutes they are in front of me. I found that while many people may just be looking for a handout or trying to take advantage, many others truly need help. I learned to be cautious and aware of my surroundings, but to not live in fear. There were many occasions where there was a potential for bad things to happen, but they did not. Ultimately, I learned that I can do the best I can to help others and be safe, but to trust that God has the situation and my well being in His control.

I Found God today by appreciating what I have learned about people in need and being grateful for the safety He provides.