We travel to northwest Austin twice a week for occupational therapy for Kyle. After several weeks of seeing homeless people and talking about it with Kyle, I saw the opportunity for us to pack kits to hand out. Kyle has endless questions about these individuals who walk with cardboard signs. I love his curiosity and his openess to understanding them. I've led many youth and adults around Austin and downtown Denver feeding the homeless, so I was thrilled that we were finding ourselves in a position twice a week to venture into their world for a few brief moments. And I find it amazingly rewarding as I'm trying to teach my young children about seeing everyone through the lens of Jesus or with "Kingdom Eyes," as my dear friend Rebecca says.
Kyle and Makenna had received money from the Easter bunny and when Kyle started asking about shopping for food for the homeless, I gave him the option of using his bunny money and he immediately agreed. He and Makenna pooled their money, totaling up to around $20 and from that moment on, Kyle kept asking when we were going to the store to shop for the homeless people.
Yesterday Kyle and I shopped and picked out things that were non-perishable. I would like to take more time on our next trip to get items that I have found these folks to enjoy receiving--socks, toothpaste/brush kits, anti-itch cream, bug spray, etc.
I am passionate about my children learning not to judge the people on the street corners. We talk about how each of these people are someone's child, someone's brother, someone's father, someone's mother, and they each were created by God and He died also for them. When working with youth, I often encountered judgementalism that their parents had passed on to them...they were drunks, lazy, etc. I vowed not to teach that to my children, but to teach them to understand that some people have problems that consume them and yes, have maybe even opted to live on the streets, rather than seeking help. And some feel they have no one. I've met people who are simply runaways, veterans, depressed. Some are happy as they can be and some have been as high as kites, clearly under the influence of a drug. Some are grandmothers, some are mothers who haven't seen their children in years. Some don't seem to have a 'sad story,' but for some reason, don't have the life skills necessary to live like 'regular people.' Regardless of their story, I want Kyle and Makenna to learn to care about people the way Jesus does and seek to be Jesus with flesh on.
It moves me deeply, way down deep in my spirit, to be doing service projects with the kids each week. It reminds me of the feelings I had when leading youth through similar projects and now, I get to do these projects with my own children. These are rich lessons in kindness, compassion, and gratitude. These lessons are best-learned 'in the field,' not from simply reading about it in a children's book. There is theory...then there is being a living sacrifice. And Kyle cared nothing for holding onto his money for himself, but wanted to give it to someone else. I hope he will hold on to that generosity for as long as possible.
I'm not a bleeding heart. And I'm not one to shirk responsbility or excuse others. Jesus was first and foremost always about people's souls and hearts and then was concerned about dealing with their 'stuff.' And he ministered to people by meeting their felt needs. He never excused people's 'issues,' in fact, he addressed them, but he met their needs, met them where they were at. I hope Kyle and Makenna can take hold of his heart and see them with his eyes. Hopefully they will teach me a thing or two about compassion.
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