I really didn't expect that...

Have you ever had one of those moments that catch you so off guard your reaction is a total surprise...even to you? Today I had one of those surprising moments.

Today I needed to go to the store to exchange something and on the way there, I saw an old man sitting on the corner with a cardboard sign that said,  "Anything helps." Immediately my mind went to the five dollar bill in my purse. (The fact that I actually had any cash at all is rare...two teenagers usually take care of that! Having any money after Christmas is even more of a rarity! ) I pulled into the parking lot and went on into the store with my son, but I knew what I needed to do. 


While I stood in line to make the exchange, I pulled out the five dollars. Of course there was an argument going on inside my head, but this time I knew the decision was already made. I felt like I had heard God whisper in my ear to give that $5. (Now, for some people five dollars is no big deal, but what can I say - I count every penny!)


We came out of the store and I didn't see him anymore. At first, I argued in my head..."See God, I was willing, but he's gone." Still, I held the money in my hand, we got into the car and pulled out of the parking lot...then I spotted him. I told my son to roll down the window. As we pulled up beside the old gentleman, he slowly rose to take the money and I looked into the most beautiful crystal blue eyes peering out from behind the scraggly grey hair. The wrinkles that lined those eyes told of years beyond even what I'd first imagined. 


We handed him the money and said, "God bless you" and then pulled away as he walked up to the car behind us that had also stopped to give him something. I shifted my gaze back to the road before us and choked out the words, "Can you imagine being that old and having no home?" That's when the tears started to fill my eyes. My son asked me, "Are you crying?" Yes, and no one was more surprised than me.


I am not a crier....oh, I may tear up at coffee commercials, but usually I stay pretty tear free. Not today...today I felt like I could become a regular tear fountain. Where did this come from? I've been praying that God would show Himself real to me this year...is this how it starts? Am I in for a year of waterworks? Is this the beginning of something new?


I never expected that from a five dollar bill.


Matthew 25:40

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’