My husband and I just returned from spending the Thanksgiving holiday in VA. Before meeting up with our three college boys we decided to spend a few days at one of our favorite spots....VA Beach. We both like to run so we ran the boardwalk everyday which just so happens to be the last time we will wear shorts running until sometime in May. Run we did and enjoyed every minute of it, not wanting to return to the chilly Northeast.
On day two we decided to take a walk along the main drag. This was late afternoon, early evening and it was already dark and the wind was picking up making for a very chilly night. The stores were all closed, some looking like maybe even for the season. It was pretty quiet with not much activity going on. except for the distant sound of police cars and the sound of traffic which for VA Beach was fairly slow. We saw groups of young people here and there and a few couples like us taking a walk but for the most part there were very little people out and about.
As we approached a corner we could see a group of young black teens and young men just hanging around. Nearby was a white woman in her 40's, pleasant looking with a floppy tattered hat on. As we walked by, I heard her say something to my husband who was nearest to her but I couldn't make out what she said because she was very faint. But as he answered no, she said in a much louder voice...."Ok God Bless."
"What"d she say?" I asked as we walked away. "She asked if I had any change" my husband replied. We walked on in silence thinking about how sad it must be for someone to be asking a stranger on the street for money. What had happened to her to put this lady in this position I wondered.
Within a few minutes my now guilt -ridden husband said..."We have to go back, maybe we should buy her a meal." "Well she didn't ask for a meal, she asked for money" I said. "If she wanted food she might have said so. Besides there are no restaurants nearby." He pointed to a Subway further down the street maybe a half mile away. "We could go there, get her a sandwich and then go back."
"By the time we get the sandwich and walk all the way back.....she'll be gone. It's quite a distance for us to walk and then go back hoping she's there. She may have wanted the money for alcohol or drugs, we don't know."
I began to rationalize as to why we did the right thing. She didn't ask for food afterall, and there must be food banks and shelters around to take care of these people. Besides she looked healthy enough and robust. Again we walked in silence before bringing up what we should of or could have done. We left it with the thought that God had woken us up to the plight of street people in need, and for the next time we had a plan. We would ask him or her if they were hungry or ask what they wanted with the money they were asking for. And of course we would share not only physical food but also spiritual as well.
The next day and night were much colder, and I thought of this homeless woman on and off during the day as did my husband. How awful it must be to stay out in this cold sea breeze with no place to lay your head except some dooryard or park bench. We decided that night to stick by the hotel. Since it would be our last night there we wanted to take pictures of the lighted sculptures up and down the boardwalk. Quickly tho...it was sooooo cold. So we stopped into Subway, next door to the Hotel, dropped off the sandwiches and headed for the beach.....walking very briskly the 200 or so yards it would take to get on from 38th Street.
Just as my feet touched the walkway and I saw the beautiful lighted sculptures I started taking pictures. I didn't notice the lady standing right next to us. I heard a voice say, "It's a cold night but the sculptures are lovely, aren't they?" We turned around to see the same tattered floppy hat with the same sweet looking face staring at us. My husband was speechless. I began a conversation with her.
"Where are you from? You don't sound from around here," she asked. When I told her the Northeast she told us she was from Vermont and really missed the mountains this year. "Oh I don't know what I'm going to do, it's so cold out now."
"Would you like us to buy you a sandwich? Are you hungry?" I asked.
"Sure, I"d like that" she replied. And off we went, this time 200 yards away to the Subway. She waited outside while we went in not wanting to warm up only to face the cold again. She asked if we would get her a hot sandwich with a drink that had Vitamin C in it. We also got her some soup. The clerk who put together her sandwich remembered us just being there minutes before, (it was very slow). We told him about this lady and started grilling him about the homeless and provision for them. He seemed amused that we were so taken in and said there was indeed a shelter on 17th street, and they all knew about it and probably had just been released from dinner. He was chuckling but I said, "What harm is it to buy anyone a sandwich and some soup?" We both knew that God had given us another chance to make things right. And we would answer the call. We would be the feet and hands of Jesus.
We went back out, handed her the nice warm meal and asked her for her name. "My name is Sarah." We told her that we were doing this in the name of Jesus and that we would pray for her keeping my promise to this day.
Before she turned away to walk into the cold dark night, she turned one last time and said "God Bless."
God Bless you too Sarah.