the last time i was in chicago it was to see the musical 'wicked' with my sister and parents for christmas. we stopped at the corner bakery for dinner beforehand and got more food than we could possibly eat. but seeing as we were going to the musical straight after we couldn't bring the leftovers home. we left it all there.
on the ten-odd block walk to the venue, we met two homeless people. the first was trying to sell to us for the meager price of 50 cents a single glove. bargaining warmth for food. unfortunately, you're never meant to give money to homeless people so we just kept going.
as we were leaving the restaurant to walk to the venue on Sunday, there was still bread left on the table. "you guys, we can't leave this bread here." on the mile-long walk to the venue we were bound to meet someone homeless. so we wrapped it up and took it with us.
only a few blocks down, we came across a man sitting on a bench on the street with a sign. "cold and hungry, please help." actually, i didn't see him. i almost kept walking past til we realised that the rest of our group had stopped. my friend who had the bread took it from her bag and with such kindness and grace and love gave it to him. i will never forget that moment.
i have no idea what impact that moment will have on that man's life. but i can only imagine. i say that to encourage you. you can be the change. with one thought, in one moment. you can change someone's life. it's so easy to feel like you can't make a difference. there are so many voices, so many movements. i know i at least can feel overwhelmed at times by all the organizations and things i could possibly lend myself to. but the truth is every action you take can impact someone. even the smallest kind gesture can completely change someone's way of thinking and turn their life around. it's a spark.
we must be the change. and we can.
