H is for Hunger and Homelessness

Did you know that November is Hunger and Homelessness Month? Well it is! Ironic how it is almost the month that starts the endless feast of too much food that doesn't seem to stop until New Year Resolutions are implemented, but I digress.

Canned food drives are either just getting cranked up or are well under way. I have to comment though on how my life seems to be carried out in themes. Right now with the constant reminder of what this month represents through reminders to give and participate in the events about hunger and homelessness, I feel I have recently been tested.

Two nights in a row I was approached in public areas and asked for spare money. Once in the parking lot of church with the guy, and then in my car alone in the drive-through at Taco Bell. I encourage students daily to give and to serve, but is that story when it's asked of me?

I believe it is better to give than to receive. But when is it right to give? Do you just give to anyone who walks up to you and asks? No, is my answer. I believe there are proper venues to give and serve. I'm not saying give when it's convenient to you. Robert Greenleaf (Servant Leader guru) says that serving should be a feeling that comes from within. Did I want to help these guys? Yes, but I don't think giving the band-aid of money would have done it. Sometimes you have to admit when some situations are bigger than you are, right now. Right now I do not feel I can help them adequately, maybe in the future, hopefully in the future.

In both situations I was asked the same thing-- to give money for food/place to stay. Even though they were similar situations, I came away from the two with two different feelings. The first night I felt bad, could I have felt guilty coming out of church, maybe. The second night I was mad, I don't want to be stared at while ordering in the drive-through. Am I a bad person for these reactions? Maybe...

I think its safe to say that fear is always accompanied by situations of the unknown. I have no knowledge of what it is like to be hungry or wondering where my next meal will come from. I have never had to rely on the kindness of a stranger to provide my basic needs in life. I have been blessed to not have been in these situations. Does that make me better than these two men asking for money? By all means, NO.

I leave this evening with a hunger myself. A hunger to know what more can I do. A hunger to want to make a difference. A hunger, I hope is never fulfilled.