even a cup of cold water.....

You see them all over the place, expecially in larger cities. Most of the time they're standing alone with a sign. Maybe one car in twenty rolls down their window and slips them some money. The other nineteen pretend as though no one is there. If you're like me, you're one of the nineteen.

We're usually scared that something will happen. Or that we'll not know how to handle ourselves when they approach. Most of all, we just don't want to get involved. They should be spending their time looking for a job instead of begging. Like we know what's gone on in their life up to this point.....

On my way home from a meeting last week, I needed to stop off in Brentwood for something. As I started up the ramp, I noticed a lady in her late-20's or early-30's standing on the side of the ramp with a sign. The temperature was in the mid-90's, and she appeared to be a bit sunburned and very hot. As usual, I avoided making eye contact. I looked in the rearview mirror, and an older couple in the car behind me made an even more concerted effort to avoid the lady by steering their car a little more to the right as they approached her. The lady held her ground, occasionally looking around. The whole time, I'm wondering what I'll do if she decides to go from car to car. I look in my mirror again, and a guy about my age pulls up a couple of cars behind me in line in a Volvo. I see his arm reach out towards her. He hands her a bottle of cold water, so cold that there are large beads of water on the outside, along with a bill of some sorts, maybe a one or a five. As I continue to look back, I see him smiling towards her. The older couple behind me have this "what is he doing?" look on their faces. The light turned green, and the guy in the Volvo smiles and waves to her. The lady turns and waves to him with a smile. I drove off admiring the guy in the Volvo, and questioning my selfishness and fears.

I kept thinking about a verse in Matthew where Jesus talked about giving as little as a cup of cold water. The water and the money were probably no big deal to the guy in the Volvo, but more than likely they meant alot to the lady on the side of the ramp.