Feed My Sheep!
It was one of those crazy mornings. You suddenly realized your wonderful morning plans are not going to happen because you forgot your son has to go to the orthodontist and you have to drive! Quick, run to the shower and at least wash your hair. I’ll just throw on my sweat suit, and go for a walk while he’s there. Oh no! I can’t find the matching jacket. Oh well, no one will see me, I’ll just drop Christian off at the door and off I’ll go. Note to self: When I think those thoughts make sure to change your clothes! As I dropped Christian off at the orthodontist, I just don’t feel like walking. What I feel like is a nice hot steaming cup of coffee. Nearest place? Lumberjack cafe. Hmmm, not wanting to go in, but loving the thought of coffee, booth and bible to read, won over. I approach the hostess and tell her “I’m just going to have a cup of coffee, as I eye the booth lovingly. She acts a little irritated and slaps my menu down up at the counter. Wow, I guess they don’t like coffee drinkers in their booths, even though 2 of them were open and no line at the door. Oh well, the waitress turns and greets me with “Do you already know what you want?”.
“Just coffee please” I now say sheepishly. Again, that irritated look and I think what is the matter? Do people never come in for just coffee? So I offer “My son is over at the dentist, so I thought I’d just duck in here for a cup of coffee”.
“Oh, who’s his dentist?” she responds. Why in the world would she ask that, I thought? Does she have a dentist here? Do here kids have a dentist here?
“Dr. Schalo” I report, for some reason wanting her to be appeased.
“Oh, I don’t know him. But there are probably a lot of dentists around here.”
I now get the feeling she doesn’t believe me. Why would she think I would be lying to her? Why do I feel the need to defend myself? I quickly run to the bathroom, not having time to go all morning and when I looked in the mirror I froze. Who is this crazed madwoman in the mirror. Her jacket does not match her pants and her hair is still wet and I believe there’s a spot from the pancake batter from morning breakfast on her pants. In shock I realize it’s me! And I look like a homeless woman! Oh my. That’s what’s been going on. I’m sure there have been many times homeless people have come in and stayed all day with a cup of coffee and taken up “valuable” seating. I quickly paid my bill and exited the restaurant. What had I just experienced? I think I experienced what a homeless person feels when going into restaurants and places of business. The rejection was frightening to me.
When I got in the car to pick up Christian I had a thought “What would happen if I lost everything today? How would I survive? Would I experience what happened today?” In the distance I saw a homeless woman wandering the streets. What had happened to get her to that place?
The radio was on as I drove to the dentist, and I listened to a story on NPR of a man who decided to leave his family to go and find work. He ended up in North Dakota living in a trailer so his family wouldn’t have to be uprooted from family and friends. He didn’t know how long he would have to stay. He just wanted to find work.
Tuesday night we attended a group that meets to pray about the marketplace. When we got there we heard testimonies of people who had to some times live in their cars, because they had no money and no where to go. They were so thankful for the help they received for food, a part time job, and occasional help from family.
As I told Mike my bizzarre tale of woe, he reported a story from the newspaper today regarding the housing market. The backlog of foreclosed homes was now being processed and he believed there were going to be many people who would become homeless in the near future, all at once.
On Saturday Mike and I participated in the Holiday Feast at our church. The request to us was to host a table (one each) and to bring the settings and tablecloth and a gift for 7 people at our table. They fed over 1,o00 people I believe. It was for families that were in hard times and not able to have a holiday meal. The two jr. high girls that sat at my table raced each other to the table and began to grab all of the chocolates at my table and pile them up on their plates and ask “Can we have that ? Can we have that?” as I assured them they could. I was a little shocked at first at their frenzy at first, but then realized that was their life. Grab it all while you can.
Is your head spinning yet? This all went through my head this morning.
Ok, so how does this all tie in to the marketplace you ask? I began to ask God “What should I do?” I can’t ignore all of these people that are so desperate, nor can I be responsible for them all. What do you want Michael and I to do Lord? What do you want to happen with the marketplace people. What responsibility do businesses have? I wish God had told me, but right now it’s just a stirring. I’ve been thinking a lot about how are we to be prepared for what is possibly coming. So many people with needs. Will we need to help set up a food bank? Will we need to think strategically about a farm, raising crops and animals? I even took it to the place of “We don’t want people to be dependent on us, so how could we set up something that gives people dignity as they come and get some of their basic needs met?”
So, there you have it. What would you do? What do you think is your responsibility? What would a business do? All I heard was “Feed my sheep.”
Thanks for letting me go on this journey with you. I hope some of you will join us on Friday as we lift up our prayers to God and listen. I know God has the answer.
Blessings!
Robbie
