Christian Living
On The Journey Home
© 2005
by
Stephen A. Peterson
Alex, a Freshman, at Indiana University, almost turned the woman away that bleak, rainy day in Bloomington, Indiana. She was a young, poorly dressed woman who had been walking down the streets in this college town knocking on doors. Alex was curious because she only said a few words before the door was shut in her face.
Light rain had fallen steadily much of the day. So had Alex’s spirits. Alex had little money due to the increased cost he had to pay for an additional biology textbook and other laboratory supplies for his freshman level class. At the time, Alex was so full of doubts that he thought God no longer loved him. He had also lost faith in anything or anyone as it seemed no one would or could help him either in the most difficult year of a college student.
Then the woman knocked on Alex’s apartment door.
“Sir,” she said, trembling in the cold, windy February afternoon, “do you, sir, have any kind of work around your apartment that I can do for you, sir? Sir, I can clean your apartment for $20.00 or $30.00, sir. I’ll do any sort of work, sir. I have two kids at home. One is three years old, the other one is nine months old and they’re hungry. Please, sir, I need just a little money for my kids.”
“I’d love to ma’am,” Alex responded. “I wish I could do something for you but I can’t, ma’am. I’m just about out of money. I’ve got to get some stuff too. Gosh, I wish I could help.”
“Well, thank you anyway, sir,” she said as she turned away with a sad, desperate look on her face.
Alex tried to wipe the woman from his mind but he could not remove the woman desperate expression from his thoughts. “Ma’am! Please, come back.” She did so wiping the raindrops and tears from her face and cheeks.
“Can I make you a sandwich and something hot to drink?”
“Oh, thank you, sir! Thank you! You must be a Christian? You are very, very kind! Thank you!”
She quickly ate the double meat salami and cheese sandwich and drank down the mug of hot chocolate as though she had not eaten anything for several days. As she ate, she began looking around the apartment. Upon finishing her merger meal, she immediately leapt up from the chair, went over to the sink and began washing the handful of dishes in the sink despite Alex’s protest that she did not have to perform a service for her meal.
Alex feeling compassion for the woman gave her the remaining twenty-five dollars and thirteen cents that he had to his name. He also gave her a small paper bag with milk, orange juice and the remaining slices of bread.
Alex watched the woman slowly walk down the street, he assumed, to go to the place where her children were. But as Alex watched the woman start on her journey home, it began another journey as well—his.
Alex returned to his church family and began his journey toward the faith he had left three months before following his graduation from high school. Since this encounter with the poor woman, Alex’s faith has seen him through many, many crises, trials and painful situations. However, more than anything else, the woman’s needs at that time in his college days made him more aware of the needs of others. He came to recognize the blessings of God through giving to others. He also learned God blesses a cheerful giver and one who sacrifices in more different ways than can be imagined!
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