One of the great things about working nights is that I’m usually one of three people in the Cub Foods near my house. This morning was no exception.

At a dark and dreary hour in the misty rain I got to the store and had unimpeded access to the aisles. I wandered around, very much a happy idiot, as I gathered the ingredients to bake a cake. The old Donna Summer tune, Mac Arthur Park, played in my mind as I left the store.

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As I left the store I did my usual paranoid thing: I checked all the shadows. Bunches of habits from my previous life have never left me, and it’s rare that I don’t do a sweep before venturing into the dark. Off to my right I detected a shadowy figure down low. I gave a closer look and it was a man in a wheelchair. 46 degrees, light rain, O’darkthirty in the morning and he’s just trying to keep a little dry.

If he was a hustler he’d call out and ask for something. But he just sits there focused on the ground in front of him. Darned interesting sidewalk. No petition for succor, no greeting. Just a soul at the end of the road in every respect I could detect.

I took my groceries to my car (big armloads, too hard to rejuggle if I set them down) and grabbed one of my envelopes. I keep a couple of these envelopes in my car year round. It’s part of my pledge last year to do a good deed once a week. Each card has a Santa Card that I posed for some years ago, a message of hope and love, and a McDonald’s gift card that will get you a hot meal and some time to enjoy an unanticipated gift. Nothing big, but I love giving them out to the folks who are dying by inches on the streets. Perhaps that message lifts them just far enough to make it back to where they want to be in life.

I walked back to the store and said, “I hope this brightens your day a bit, Brother. God Bless.” He looked surprised and reached for the card with his left hand. His right arm was just a stump inside a worn and dirty sweat shirt. His eyes were dead but he did say thank you.

I went back to the car and pulled out of my spot. His wheel chair was hidden behind a post, most likely to avoid having to deal with the police for loitering. As I started to drive by he shouted thanks. And then a minor miracle took place: his smile lit my world from end to end. He had the most beautiful look on his face. Someone had taken a minute to do something for him beyond treating him with contempt or disdain. I pulled the car over, hit the flashers and went around to the back hatch.

In Minnesota you keep certain supplies with you for the winter. Since it never ends around here I keep spare clothes in the back of my Explorer all the time. I reached in the back and got out one of my spare hoodies. I got two of the exact same one for gifts about five years ago and keep the nice one in the car for emergencies. This qualified.

I approached his chair and he thanked me again. I said, “You look cold. This might help. Can I drape it over your shoulders?” He was frail. Somewhere between 20 and sixty, yeah, that kind of look. He agreed. I gently put the garment over his shoulders and said, “Can I pray for you?” He hung his head and said, “Yes.”

And in that moment, in a parking lot just out of the rain underneath the grocery store sign, the two of us spent an eternal moment. The moment that Christ calls for in the Gospels when he says in Matthew 25: 31-46 that he expects us to take care of our brothers and sisters. Please go read the citation at the link, it’s important.

I quietly prayed over this man and placed my hands gently on his shoulders. I asked the God who has given me so much to take care of this brother in his hour of need. And I told him that I loved him and he wasn’t alone in this world.

I got back in my warm car and drove off while he sheltered out of the rain. Like the cake in Mac Arthur park he would have melted in the rain. Perhaps my moment’s respite kept the sweet green icing from flowing down.

I’m not anything here but obedient. I stepped out of the normal comfort zone of most people and did my best to live the life of a follower of Christ this morning. I’m a failure most days, most hours, most minutes. But I do try to follow Him.

This morning I’m asking you to do the same. It’s not the dollar amount, it’s not the garment, it’s the show of love and kindness that all of us need. I feel loved right now. His smile will stay with me for a long time.

Can you reach out today? Can you follow Christ’s example in some simple way?

Here’s the video. I hope you have a blessed day.

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