So Adam and I just went for a walk to the car because we needed the printed out directions to our interviews tomorrow. We were getting close to the car when we saw a man rummaging through the trash. He said good evening to us and asked if we had any change. Neither of us had anything on us. We went to the car and grabbed some muffins and chex mix and offered them to him. He told us he was diabetic and that those foods would probably kill him. We offered him all of the food we had in the car, but because of his health condition he couldn’t eat any of it. He asked for gloves but we hadn’t brought any with us.
He showed us his tags from Vietnam and told us that he was a war veteran. He told us he had served our country and had done his duty. He told us as if this was how he was showing his worth as a person. He said no one cares about you when you are poor. It was like he felt like he needed to prove himself by telling us he had served the country. We ended up parting with him wishing us a good evening and us disappointed that we couldn’t help.
It was heartbreaking that we couldn’t help this guy…we really wanted to give him something and couldn’t. I felt so helpless not being able to do anything for him. What is even more heartbreaking though is that this guy and too many others experience this every day. I can’t even imagine being at a place where I needed to dig through trash cans to survive. I can only imagine how humbling it would be. It’s awful that a person should feel the need to explain their worth through their military record. Aren’t we all infinitely worthy just for being creatures of the Almighty God? It’s terrible that because of his experiences, this man felt like he needed to prove to us that he was worthy of our attention. It shouldn’t be this way.
We came back feeling pretty disheartened knowing this guy was going to be out in the cold hungry tonight. It felt like my heart was breaking but I can only imagine how much more grieved God must be to know what his child is experiencing. I put hope in knowing that, even when we feel helpless and out of control, God looks after all of his children regardless of what society thinks of them. I ask that you would pray for the man we met tonight–that he wouldn’t know hunger and cold anymore and that he would know God’s love through the actions and words of all the people around him.
- Rachel
