relation to God

On my way to work today, I made eye contact with an apparent homeless man who was crossing the street. I smiled at him, and wondered where he was headed. I noticed, via my side mirror, that he put his bag down at the bus stop and then pulled out a cardboard sign. He then walked up and down the sidewalk, carrying his sign with him. I never actually saw his sign, but I'm sure I can guess what it said. It was probably something about being homeless, something about needing a ride or food, or even how he is a veteran.

When the light turned green, I drove on. I carried his face and apparent situation with me as I traveled through downtown Nashville, seeing other homeless people wandering around. I saw empty cans, plastic bags, and even a sleeping bag under a bridge I passed.

I've blogged before about how I've noticed the homeless community around me. How I pray for open eyes to see the need. But today it meant more and was heavier on my heart than before.

I didn't know what to do. So I stuck with routine. I opened my emails to find that Ken, my pastor here in Nashville, had sent out an email. It was a link to a news clip that aired last night about giving food to the homeless, highlighting Downtown's Wednesday lunch program. In the news clip, Ken said something that spoke right to my heart:

Wherever I am, if I am close to God, God will help me see the need of those around me.

I don't know how close (or far) I am from God most days. I know that I could be a lot closer, I could focus much more energy on my relationship with God, and that I have a lot of love to share that I don't. But there's something deep about Ken's quote, something that I've been trying to process all day long. Is that what it feels/looks like to be in relationship with God: to see the needs that surround you and act out of love to make the world better? Suddenly, I feel like that could be a very real answer to a very important question.