Irony Becomes Her

The Polls Are Closed

My warmest thanks to all who suggested picture-worthy items. I have now finished the roll and turned it in for processing--the cheap kind, because that's the kind of person I am.

The results should make for some exciting posts.

On my way into my wonderful personal Mom-and-Pop photo developer (its initials are WM), an older, half-invalid gentleman stopped me and asked me to return some items for him and bring him back the gift card they would give since he didn't have a receipt.

I didn't want to do it. I feel extremely vulnerable when asked to do anything by a stranger, but it was still light out and he couldn't hurt my person in such a public place--then again, he couldn't hurt me at all in his condition. I agreed to do it because he seemed genuinely to need help, although I couldn't get the words or courage to ask him why he needed me to do something like that.

I want to show love to the least of these. How could I do it in this instance? I could be helping an old man or facilitating some kind of scam. When the cashier asked me for my driver's license and signature I became even more antsy. A friend who happened to get behind me in line mentioned that you are only allowed to return a certain number of things every six months without a receipt. That was a comforting possible reason, even though my murmured prayers weren't getting me any closer to a heavenly revelation of what this encounter should mean.

But I carried out the commission and brought a gift card in excess of $50 to the man waiting in his truck. I must confess that I quickly declined the offered reward and hurried away. There might have been a better way to show him love. Was the Holy Spirit just letting me figure it out on my own, or was I truly not listening? Did everything happen just as he would want it, or am I sorely missing the mark?

I feel like I'm only comprehending half of the "Trust and Obey" thing. How does one obey when one has no intelligible command? If I had been feeding on the bread of life more consistently, would I have known what to do? How might I be changed for the better by this?

posted by Lynn @ 10:38 PM