"What can I offer?"

We have stuck out like sore thumbs in the Martin Luther King Jr. district this week. As we have walked through the neighborhood from the MARTA stop to Café 458 I am reminded that I have little to offer. There are women sitting on the street shaking from drug withdrawal, men who are drunk, children who are dirty, families who are homeless and yet I walk by. As I walk I have been thinking, “what could I offer?”

I have had four different chances to offer “something” this week. On Monday, Kelly and I were walking from the Café to the MARTA station and a women stopped us…well actually yelled to us across the street to stop and listen to her. She told us that she was homeless and hungry, we offered to buy her lunch. We walked into a little restaurant and the wait staff recognized her and reminded her that she should not beg for food. Although she had a full stomach and someone to listen to her, we just perpetuated the cycle. We offered very little.

Tuesday, the three of us girls spent the afternoon learning about Martin Luther King Jr., visiting a museum, his grave and the Baptist church the he and his father co-pastored together. On our way back to the van a man stopped us, told us that he was homeless and needed some money for food. We tried to engage in conversation with him, yet he seemed disinterested, we gave him money. We offered him very little.

As we walked to the MARTA on Wednesday, we walked past a woman shaking and weeping. She was sitting in a door alcove with her face buried in her hands. I looked at her and something called me too her, but I kept walking, trying to erase the image from my head and justify not stopping. We offered her nothing.

Thursday, Stephanie, Josh and I were walking on the same street on the way back to the MARTA station and we were stopped by a women who told us that her grandchild had just been killed in a fire. She was asking for money and trying to sell us Jinco jeans. She was pushy and wasn’t going to let us go without giving her something. I had no cash, Stephanie and I looked at each other, Josh was across the street, so we offered a prayer. We offered the only thing that we could think of. Jesus. As we prayed I was reminded that nothing I could offer, except for Jesus could heal her pain and the loss she felt. We offered her all that we had.

Telling people about Jesus is hard for me, showing people Jesus is my goal. Offer those around you something HUGE. Offer them Jesus.

Laura