I have a quality about myself. I hate being late to anything.

Yesterday I had an experience where as I was driving an hour early to my next appointment, which is nice because that means I have time to stop, 

I have time to help

 I have time to eat. 

I have time to do things that I might need to do 

or that others might need help with.

 I’m always on time ….. it just works out. 

Well yesterday I had a pretty good understanding of something I’ve never felt before

As I was driving to my appointment, I saw a man not dressed well at all….I continued to drive past him and I pulled immediately into Wendy’s and I ordered $10 worth of food and then I ordered two drinks, one root beer and one whatever The person working at the register wanted 

i said surprise me….It’s really fun to ask people, employees what they would suggest to eat.  what they like.  This little  conversation,  it opens up a new brightness in them.  

And then order what they suggest, doing this little act, helps them feel as they are meant to be somewhere important, like they’re meant to do something, they are helping others and by me just taking a little bit of time asking my brother working at Wendy’s restaurant,  I got to understand him,I got to learn about them and the things they like.  

I hope I now use this as a guide to get to know more people, to listen and hear what they like. The thing that I learned the most…. is I know they felt important to me, the person behind the register and their opinions mattered it wasn’t just about me and what I wanted. 

While I was asking the cash register employee, another employee came up and said, have him eat this or buy this, and I said I’m sorry, but I’m talking to and I mentioned their name, I would really like to know their opinion. And I went right directly back to them with eye contact, and I wanted to know what they wanted. And dis missed the interruption

And I think by doing this, they knew that I wanted their opinion, not anybody else’s, I was talking to them, one on one…wanting to know them, wanted to know what they were interested in.

Anyway, back to buying the food, I got the drink that my brother at the register suggested  and I told him to surprise me because there were a lot of suggestions of what he suggested.

As I drove away, I was wondering what they picked because I got two brown drinks and I knew one of them was root beer, they were not marked, so I had a 50-50 chance of getting a root beer or whatever else my dear brother picked.

As I drove back towards my brother with the sign, I stopped about a block away, parked my car, turned on calm, relaxing music that I can pray to, that I can hear my Heavenly Father, when I have this relaxing music in the background so that i can keep talking to Him.

The music doesn’t distract me it actually makes me more focused on talking with God.

Anyway, I prayed that I would be inspired and be able to hear him, my dear brother in need and know what to say, but most of all that I could love, that I can listen to him, that I could hear him, and understand more about him.

I looked in my wallet, and I noticed I had no cash whatsoever and that was kind of an understanding to me that I wasn’t there for money. I was there to listen to him, what he needed.

I also put a blessing on the food, hoping that it would give him enough strength to do what he needed to do for that day

I went up to my dear brother, I parked, got the food and walk straight over to him. I introduce myself, and I said I think you need some food.

I said I have a half an hour before I have to get to a meeting

I would love to sit down with you and eat with you and we can either talk about all your struggles all your problems or whatever you want to talk about or you can be quiet and I can talk,

I grabbed one of the drinks, thinking I have a 50-50 chance of getting hopefully root beer cause that’s about the only soda I drink and I don’t drink very much of it. 

Well, it wasn’t root beer. It was Dr Pepper…… to me……yuck it taste’s  just like cough medicine.. I don’t understand how people drink it, but that’s just me, everyone has their own opinion….

He welcomed me into his space where he was sitting, I looked over at his sign, and It said …….homeless anything helps.

As I was talking and listening to my dear brother, I had an understanding of how he felt, I was observing again, but this time,, I was observing through his eyes, I was watching everybody look at him, read his sign,, and then look straight ahead and drive by.

I was there in my suit and tie eating with my dear brother, 

and I felt! 

 I felt all of the disgusting looks that people had in their eyes when they looked at him. 

It seemed to me that they were instantly judging him where he was,

 and why they did not want to help.

It was sad.

 It really hurt my heart.

Because I’ve been there, and now that I’m trying to improve myself, 

I remember every day….. when I see somebody like that,

 like my dear brother on the corner, 

pleading for help…

And nobody was there to lift me……

Nobody came to my rescue….

I sat with my dear brother for 20 minutes talking…..just talking about him and his life and what’s going on.

And not one single person…..stopped and offered him anything….and he held his sign up the whole time while we were talking because it was windy and he did not want it to blow away.

That rips my heart up…..

Are we not God-fearing people anymore?

Do we not see everyone as family?

How would we feel if that was us……pleading for help? 

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I want to tell you, the one thing that my brother wanted more than anything,

 it wasn’t the money, 

he didn’t even ask for it…

All he wanted was a shower, so that he could clean himself up. 

I then Knew why I was there, I offered my dear brother, an opportunity this coming Saturday, I welcomed him to come take a shower, to clean himself up, 

I offered him to come swim with me, to let all his worries, all his pains to  just slip away in that pool water, 

for those little short hours that he can spend with me.

 With all of us in the pool.

I really really hope he comes.  

I don’t usually give names out.

But I need anyone reading this.

Please pray for our dear Brother Patrick.

He is my Brother !  He is your Brother !  He is a Child of God !

::David::

5-16-24