"What does that man's sign say?" asked Grace
"He's asking for money for food. He doesn't have a place to live" I replied.
"Well, give him some money" Grace said in her "duh" tone of voice.
"I don't have any" I replied since I never have any cash.
"Of course you do, hand me your wallet. Look- you have hundreds in here." she said rummaging through my coins.
"Well, see if you can find any quarters, 4 quarters will make a dollar and we can give him that."
By this time the light had changed and I thought I was going to escape this uncomfortable situation. I say uncomfortable because although I think of myself as charitably inclined, I have never given anyone money out my car window. I honestly have mixed feelings about it. We've actually been talking about the poor in our Bible Study and what we are called to do to help those less fortunate than ourselves. And here I was in a real situation with my four year old wanting to help out of the purity and innocence of her heart.
"Mommy, here are four quarters. Turn around so we can give it to him."
At this point we were on the highway and there was no "turning around." The more I tried to explain that, the more upset she got that this man wouldn't get our dollar. Our compromise was that when we went back out for her dance class, we would drive by and give it to him and when we did, we would bring him something to eat and drink. In our Bible study discussions one of the women shared that she keeps a package of crackers or another non-perishable snack to share with someone asking for money. So I thought we could copy that idea.
When we got home Grace handed me her "four quarters"- one dime and three pennies and told me to keep them in a safe place until we went back. She ran in and opened the refrigerator. I overhead her talking to herself "hmmm, what does an adult like to drink, I can't give him a juice box...." Luckily we had some coke and she picked out some snacks.
I was super nervous as we approached the intersection and wound down the window. Not because I was scared, but because I was so worried how this man was going to respond. Grace had the sweetest anticipation look on her face and I knew if he didn't appreciate her gift, it would crush her. My prayers were answered when I (I had to draw the line at her giving it to him much to her dismay) handed over the drink, snack and money (I added a few dollars from the house) and he thanked us profusely and seemed genuinely grateful.
"Well, we'll have to look for him another day to see if he needs anything" Sweet Grace...
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