“The Least of These” as referred to in the “Good Book” (bible) strolled into my life yesterday as I sat in the lobby of a local Christian school chatting with my friend, Donna. He was brilliantly disguised as a homeless man and outcast of society with a black duffle-bag draped over his shoulder and a cane in his hand as he walked with a limp over to us with a look of desperation on his face. I’d seen his type many times before tattered and dirty clothes, ratty and matted hair and a toothless grin so we greeted him with a smile and kind words.
Most people would probably have been turned-off by his appearance and demeanor, but I was actually turned-on and eager to hear his story, but there was just one small problem. He couldn’t speak or write. Ughhhh!!! Definitely a challenge on our hands I thought. I’ve been here many times before but never with an individual that couldn’t speak or write.
He put his bag down, handed me his California Identification Card and began in his attempt to communicate his desires to us. Forrest was his name and it was clear that he was going through some significant struggles in his life. “How can we help you?” was the question we asked and after several minutes of grunts and different hand gestures in a futile attempt to communicate, we all started to become a bit frustrated.
We offered him some cold, bottled water, some cookies and a short prayer for his safety but I wasn’t content to just send him on his way. So I grabbed his bag and walked with him to a local park. 100 degree, summer Bakersfield, California weather with no clouds in the sky, yes it would’ve been easier for me to drive him in my vehicle but I wanted to walk a mile in his shoes with him (so to speak). As we walked on the hot pavement in the sweltering heat no words were exchanged, but I felt some type of strange connection and bond being established between us. I can’t really explain it or put it in words but I felt like a quiet whisper was saying, “This is good,” and we were being smiled upon in the moment. Hmmm…
Once we reached the park we shared a park table-bench with four strangers, Destiny, Daniel and Elder Wilson and Elder Furlough from a local Mormon Church. I introduced my new friend Forrest to them and we all engaged in a casual conversation while Forrest listened in. Several minutes later the others left and it was just me and Forrest again. I lightly banged my fist on the table and voiced my frustration of not being able to communicate with him adequately. Then it hit me. “Charades!!!” I said to myself. “I can find out more about him with charades.” So the game began.
I spent the next several delightful minutes with Forrest uncovering some interesting facts of his life. A seventy-year-old, homeless, 10 year military veteran just passing through Bakersfield looking for a cool place to lay his head for a couple of hours before he moves on. I gave him a few words of encouragement followed by some sincere words of appreciation for his service to our country. I then took the opportunity to bless him with a few dollars and some bus fare and sent him on his way with a smile.
I shared this story with you today in hopes that it will spark something in you that reminds you to seize the opportunity to be kind to the “least of these” in the world around you when the opportunity presents itself. I hope that you can see yourself modeling similar behavior that brightens someone else’s day in an awesome way. You never know, we may be the only face of the faith they see.
I can’t pretend to know what the future holds for Forrest, but I do know who holds the future for all of us and He wants to partner with us on our journey through this thing called “life” to make it great.
So, I encourage you today to keep the faith or join the faith and let’s continue in our best efforts to make it GREAT while helping others to do the same.
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