i am thankful challenge...day#8

i have to admit, sometimes i just want to pump my gas. or eat my fiber one bar at the traffic light in peace. i'd like to be able to walk to my car without feeling like i'm being followed, watched, sought out.

i'm not a fan of a beggar. yes, i just saw you ask the dude before for money. yes, i see your sign. no, i don't want to give you money if i see you smoking cigarettes or holding a cell phone. feeling this way doesn't make me selfish, but reaching in my pocket when i see someone who looks like their hungry and pulling out change when i have money in my wallet does. i'm a believer in people. i've given money to ungrateful people. i've given money just so someone would leave me alone. i've bought dinner for a man laying outside on the ground in front of KFC who didn't even ask me, put a $10 bill inside the bag and listened to him curse me out before he even looked inside the bag because i didn't buy him a drink. i've given just because.

and then...i've given because God moved me to. i still til this day say i had one of the greatest conversations i ever had with a homeless man on the expressway ramp at wesley chapel. i rolled my window down, because  before i even exited i felt a feeling. i can't quite describe what it was, but it was one of those things where you  just feel good for no reason. i saw him walking down the ramp, and before i knew it i had rolled down my window and reached out with a $20 bill. the guy walked up to me and said, "thank you sir, thank you. God bless you". and i have no idea how it happened, but we shared a conversation about God that has never left me til this day. I just remember driving away and feeling amazing. it wasn't even about the money. it was a connection i made with someone who was in need. it wasn't about me or him in that moment, that was God. i have no idea what the guy did with the money, i could care less. i just know that it made me feel good, just to give. just to talk to him like he was a person. just to share the word of God with someone.

giving to other's is not always something you want to do, but it's something you should do. it's something you will get a lot more back from, than you may expect. i am thankful for the spirit of generosity. i am thankful that God is with me at times when i forget that everyone on this earth is my sister or brother. and if i am able, even if it's the last penny i have to my name to help someone else...i should not hesitate  because God is always going to make it alright. he blesses you, so that you can bless other's. remember that year round, not just holidays or disasters.

"I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.’

Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me. - Jesus