Category Archives: Life’s disappointments

Help for Beggars

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We got an early start today, leaving Michigan well before sunrise. After dropping Nelson at O’Hare, Birgitta, Jack and I set off on a day of adventure, starting with a big Chicago breakfast. We worshiped at Moody Church, then headed for “The Magnificent Mile,” joining in with the shopper’s parade along beautiful Michigan Avenue.

As we walked, we were both disturbed to see beggars on every corner. Some were shaking cups of coins, calling to passers-by, while others barely peeked out from beneath their hoods or behind their signs. We saw men and women, young and old, and all were begging for money.

Literally hundreds of shoppers streamed past, ignoring the beggars and their pleas for help. As Birgitta and I shared a McDonald’s lunch, we tried to answer the many questions prompted by the presence of so many beggars. Were they hungry as their signs said? When did they last eat? Were they homeless? Where did they last sleep? Did they have families? How did they come to this?

As we talked, new questions arose. Would it be an insult to put only coins into their cups? And if we put money in one, shouldn’t we put it in all? Should we carry a roll of bills for this purpose? Would McDonald’s gift cards be better? Or maybe a scarf? A hat? Would a smile without a practical gift seem cavalier?

My dad served on the board of Pacific Garden Mission for several decades, believing in their work with the poor. He used to keep PGM business cards in his pocket for the homeless, telling them if they walked over to the mission, they’d receive a meal, a clean bed and whatever clothing they needed. Were these cards a blessing to the recipient or a disappointment?

After leaving Birgitta at Union Station to travel with hundreds of other students back to Iowa, I drove home to Michigan, bothered by what we’d seen today. I felt guilty for not having given of myself or my money. Although I had cards for “GettingThroughThis” in my pocket, they seemed inadequate for such severe problems.

I decided to pray about these struggling souls, asking God what to think (or do) about them. His answer came quickly: “Take your cue from Jesus. What did he do about beggars?”

When I got home, I checked, and the one thing Jesus always did was help. But he inevitably connected it to faith in himself as God’s Son. He linked his practical gifts (such as healing) to the Gospel’s truth.

I thought back to Dad’s method of helping beggars, giving them the PGM cards. Because the mission offered worship services and presented the Gospel before meals, he had it right. His card was a ticket to both practical help and the truth of Jesus’ eternal healing.

So, what should Birgitta and I have done today? Gifts of money, hamburgers or hats would have been OK but incomplete. If we’re to follow Jesus’ example, a PGM card, a GettingThroughThis.com card or another piece of Scripture coupled with money, hamburgers or hats would have been much better.

Tangible gifts do help, but only temporarily. The powerful help of the Gospel goes on forever.

“Though [Jesus Christ] was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9b)

The Spy Club

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Everybody loves to belong, because it’s no fun being stuck outside looking in. We belong to families, clubs, student bodies, churches, small groups, neighborhoods and more. Most of us have also been excluded or eliminated from belonging. I was crushed when I didn’t make cheerleading. Nate was wounded when he didn’t get into Harvard. Rejection comes in all shapes and sizes.

When I was a school girl, I had the same strong desire to belong that every other girl had. Thankfully I found Carol, who turned out to be my best buddy from kindergarten through fifth grade. We were a group of two, and if we felt excluded by the other girls, we had the perfect solution: start our own club.

In the back of my primitive journal from those days, I discovered the founding document of “The Spy Club” started in 1955. Its list of rules dictated that the club was only for spies with flair:

  • Never back out on any of the members.
  • Must always be ready for duty.
  • Must be brave at all times.
  • When on pleasure trips, must not spy.
  • Never get too close when spying.
  • When spying on one person, never take to another until finished with the first one.
  • Must wear pin at all times, and you will be checked at every meeting and at school.
  • Must be at all meetings unless of a good excuse.

Beneath this list was a description of the initiation process: to go on a brave spying trip.

No specific spying challenges are detailed in the document, but there is a caveat at the end: Whenever any of the members are gone on trips, write letters back and forth telling what is happening.

At the bottom of the legal-sized sheet are the signatures of the club leaders: Margaret Johnson and Carol Miller. No doubt our finest missions were spent spying on the other girls, the ones from whom we probably felt excluded.

There’s only one club I know of that’s open to any and all people, and that’s God’s Club. The one qualification needed is a sincere desire to submit to him as personal Lord. Anyone willing to do that can join the Club by going through the initiation: repenting of personal sin.

There are no club dues, because one Donor paid them all, and that was Jesus. His death covered the cost of being in the Club for all of us, and once we’re “in”, God will never turn us out. We might choose to quit, but he won’t ever quit on us.

Although there were eight rules in the Spy Club, God’s Club has only one: to love the Lord with heart, soul, mind and strength. And when we strive to keep that rule, Club benefits abound! Every scriptural promise becomes ours, and we can look forward to One-on-one time with our Leader, any time of day or night.

Best of all, our Club will never end. Every other club will eventually break up or dissolve just as the Spy Club did, but God’s Club will continue into eternity with the assurance that every member will be included forever.

Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die’.” (John 11:25-26)



Home Improvement – Part VII

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My sister Mary recently injured her shoulder. She didn’t remember any specific moment when anything snapped or cracked, but as the summer weeks passed, her pain steadily increased. Eventually she couldn’t lift her grandbabies or anything else. The diagnosis? A “frozen shoulder.” The remedy? Physical therapy.

When I asked how therapy was going, Mary said, “The woman pushes my arm until my shoulder starts to hurt, and then she really pushes.” As a result, little by little her shoulder has “thawed” and has became useable again. After ten weeks of therapy, it’s almost 100%.

God works on people in exactly the same way. He determines where we’re deficient or “frozen”, then designs a scenario for each of us that will involve stretching and pushing, which often brings pain and tears. But the end result is growth in spiritual maturity. The Lord doesn’t get pleasure from watching us struggle but does delight in our progress as we navigate through it. And so he lets the troubles come.

When our Chicago area home refused to sell, which would have brought needed financial stability, we had been ushered into God’s therapy room. Week after week he was stretching us, pushing us to the limit, improving our perseverance. Similar to Mary’s experience, it was unpleasant and even maddening. But God designs our therapy with perfection and knows exactly when to ease up. He promises not to overdo it.

During the holiday season of 2008, as we were about to take our renovated but unpopular home off the market, we got another carrot on a stick. A young couple toured our house three times in quick succession, which encouraged us to keep the house listed. Then one afternoon our realtor called: “Good news! They just made an offer, and this one looks solid!” It was Christmas week.

Although we wondered why a childless couple in their mid-twenties would want such a large house, as we signed the contract offer, we didn’t ask. Our realtor left with a big grin, and we did our best to share her enthusiasm. But after she walked out, we shook our heads and agreed, “It won’t happen.”

Within days the couple arrived with an inspector, who discovered tiny bits of vermiculite in the attic insulation, which had trace amounts of asbestos in it. Safety protocol was to leave it undisturbed, but our potential buyers said it had to be removed or they’d pull out of the contract. Even though it cost $8000, we decided to do it.

As 2008 rolled into 2009, Isaiah 52:12 was on my mind: “For the Lord will go before you; the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” We needed to follow God into a new beginning, forgetting the failures of our past. The buyers were still with us, and there was a flicker of hope that this time we might actually be selling and moving. But as Nate’s back had begun to worsen, I’d fallen on the ice and broken two ribs, which prompted a question:

Shouldn’t both of us be in physical therapy?

(…to be continued)

“To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness.” (Ecclesiastes 2:26a)