Two Trash Bags & A Sparkley Sweater: A Christmas List I'll Never Forget

Gifts we will give AmyJo

After a long day at work, I walked up to AmyJo - all curled up on the hard sidewalk under her blanket, in front of the bench at the CVS on Aloma Ave. - and I said, "Hey there, how you doing tonight?...Here is some dinner."  As I crouched down next to her, I noticed she only had one blanket.  

Every other time I had visited, she had several.  

Her answer explained why:

"I'm ok, but I'm cold. Someone stole all my stuff today."

My heart dropped down to my feet, and once again, this woman on the street - who I barely knew - had me on the verge of tears.  

Who would steal the dirty, old, used blankets of a homeless woman?   

It was already after 9pm, and I hadn't been home yet. 

But I knew what I should and needed to do, as uncomfortable as I was.

"You know what?  We have extra blankets, extra pillows, and whatever else you need... I'll be back in 20 minutes."

I got home, raced around our apartment, still in my uncomfortable work heels who were screaming to be taken off, and threw together a pile of stuff.

When I returned to her, I decided to take a bit of a risk.  

Instead of assuming what she needed this time, I decided to ask her.  I admit it.  I had been avoiding that question because I knew it could put me in an awkward position of having to say "no."  I've been there, done that, and its always a hard place to back out of.  

"AmyJo, what else might you need?  What was in your bags that were stolen?"

She smiled.  It was adorable.

"I had an umbrella, shoes, socks, and two trash bags that I lost.  Can you bring me any of those?"

Honestly, I immediately felt guilty.  

Here I thought she might ask me for unreasonable things.  Instead she asks me for trash bags.  I realize how guarded I was, and how guarded I am, most of the time. 

"AmyJo, I can undoubtedly put together 2 trash bags, shoes, an umbrella, and socks for you...what size?"

"Ok.  Can I ask for something else too?...Do you think I could have a new shirt, with sparkles on it?"

In my head, I compared her list to the lists my children had made and the list I had made.  I couldn't get past the simplicity of her list compared to my own and my children's.  To go to a store and purchase those items for her was a gift to me.  And I had noticed that during the two months she's spent on the street, she hasn't changed shirts.  Then an amazing thing happened...

The very next day, before I had gone to the store, I received a check in the mail.  A $25 check from a good friend in college, written out to me, with "Pay it Forward" in the memo line.  Because I knew the heart of this friend, I knew immediately why she sent it.  She had seen my earlier blog about AmyJo and wanted to help.

AmyJo was going to get her sparkly sweater, shoes, and a few other gifts, and it was because of the blessing of someone who lives 1,200 miles away.  

That, my friends, is a small Christmas miracle.  

My friend didn't know AmyJo would have all her things stolen when she decided to cut me a check 3 or 4 days earlier; she only knew at that point I had befriended a woman who was homeless.  

Then today, another thing happened.  

I got a call from our Director of Kitchen Ministries at work wondering if he could put together a plate of food for AmyJo.  

"Seriously??" I asked.  "YES!  She will love it!"  

Yet another Christmas miracle. Another who decided to live into this unfolding story.  

The meal was delivered.  A belly was filled.  

And I might be wrong, but there is a possibility that hope could be coming alive again in someone who thought she wasn't noticed.

The power of the spirit astounds me each and every day, especially when we are working together for the common good.  The spirit moves us, directs us, whispers to us, and challenges us to consider how we can have a part in deep gospel living.  My friends heard the whisper, acted, and are now a part of this interesting friendship between a mom and her kids and a woman who is homeless. 

AmyJo, with her vulnerability that I wish didn't exist, and her simplistic lists, is challenging me to lean into that movement of the Holy Spirit more consistently, and more deeply, each and every day.  I feel like every time I stop to see her, I'm leaning into my relationship with God a little bit more.  If I were to spend all my time with people who basically act, look, and believe like I do, then my world becomes pretty small.  I might even start to believe that's how the rest of the world is too.

But its not.

And God calls me out of that world and into the world of others who are not like me.

So I have to be intentional about checking myself, my calendar, and my to-do list at the door - and seeing if my habits, routines, and way of thinking and behaving, have me leaning closer or further away from the roads that Jesus walked when on earth.  

And then I have to admit to myself that I need to do more of the uncomfortable more often, whether its packing blankets in my work heels, or asking what someone needs.  

We have not gifted AmyJo with her clothing yet, but everything has been wrapped and I'm looking forward to watching her open her shoes, pants, candy, and of course, her sparkley shirt.    

Peace,

Annette