I Saw Jesus Today

I saw Jesus today....

It was Friday afternoon, I was done with classes and quizzes for the week, and was ready for my 2.75 hour journey home to Greenville for the weekend.  On my way out of town I was planning a quick stop for gas in an effort to beat the Friday traffic rush in Atlanta.  

As I pulled into the corner gas station, I saw a haggard-looking gentleman digging through the trash can at the pump I was backing up to.  While parking and gathering my money to pay for the gas, I mentally prepared myself to get out of the car, thinking, "Oh, great, he's going to ask me for money."  I have lived in Miami and am familiar with the sight of people begging on the streets.  I usually pray for the person and their needs, but honestly, I pretty much despise being asked for money.  I rarely ever hand out money but have on occasion given a person food, the address of a shelter, etc....something that cannot be used to feed a drug or alcohol addiction.

Something about this man pulled at my heart strings.  He was holding up the cap to a gas tank, thinking I may have left it behind and was returning for it.  I shook my head no and he continued to search through the garbage.  Adverse to my normal reaction, I looked in my purse for some loose change and grabbed two quarters for him.  

When I exited my car, the man asked me if I could help him get a burger.  He offered to pump my gas for me and his eyes pleaded with me to help him.  I told him I didn't have much money and gave him the two quarters.  I was preparing to end my interaction with him and started pumping gas, avoiding eye contact.  Silently seeking a way out, I began thinking to myself that I was trying to beat traffic, I didn't have time for this today, and that I had helped enough with the two quarters.  I was in a rush...I just didn't have time!

But something told me, yes, you do have time.  Make time.  

So, I turned to the man, still digging in the trash for something that he could salvage, and I asked him where he'd like to get a burger.  He pointed to Checkers (within walking distance) put said wherever is fine.  I could not bear the thought of him eating from a garbage bin any longer, so I told him to meet me at Checkers and I'd finish up at the gas station.  He mumbled thank you and something about a bike, which he quickly grabbed and walked himself and the bike over to Checkers. 

Walking up to the pick-up window, I asked this apparently homeless and possibly mentally challenged man his name.  He said, "Mike, but people call me Big Mike."  I told him my name and asked Mike what he would like to eat.  He was standing a couple feet back from the pick-up window and was shuffling his feet a bit.  Mike told me he just wanted a Checkers burger, so I ordered a large #1 with a Coca-Cola, Mike's drink of choice.   The large drink came immediately and Mike grabbed it eagerly with two hands, sipping the excess from the top of the lid so none would be wasted. 

While we waited for the food, we began to talk, and I asked Mike if he was from Atlanta.  He answered that he was and told me that he lived 'over there' (pointing to some woods across the street), in the woods, behind some people's house that he looked after.  Mike said he watched out for their place, making sure nobody messed with it.  Looking right into my eyes, Mike told me, "I'm just a handicapped, homeless guy.  I don't mean no harm to anybody.  Even the police around here know me and I just try to help people out and do the right thing when I can."  I answered that that was a pretty good thing to do.

I told Mike how I was on my way home to visit my family in South Carolina, and he commented on how pretty it was...he traveled there with his mama and sister and had been there before his mama had died but didn't get to stay long because somebody needed the car back that they were borrowing.  Mike said how quiet and full of trees the Carolinas are and that that was the only time he'd been out of town in his fifty-two years of life.

When the food came, I handed it to Mike and said, "It sure was nice meeting you today.  I live nearby, so I hope I run into you again."  Mike gave me a big grin and said he hoped so too.  As we started walking our separate ways, me to my car, and Mike to his bike, he thanked me and wished me a safe trip home.     

I saw Jesus today.  I saw Jesus in the face of a guy named Mike.  I saw Jesus in the body of a displaced, handicapped, homeless man.  I heard Jesus in the gentle voice of kind gentleman from Atlanta.  I looked into Jesus' eyes when I looked into Mike's big, brown eyes as he told me thank you.  I saw Jesus today.