Do you ever have those moments where God teaches you something, and you’re relieved because no one knows about it? Well, you’re all about to know about mine.

Yesterday, on the way to take Carolyn and her friend to school, we needed to stop by “Albertsons.” As we came out of the store and headed to the car, an older Mexican man asked for money for food, while rubbing his tummy. I didn’t have any money on me and told him so. He walked away with his head down, and we carried on to school.

As we left, I told the kids I was thinking about coming back, after dropping them off, and helping him out. Well, as we were almost to school, the tire went flat, which changed my plans.

After the tow truck driver put the spare on, I knew I needed to buy new tires and made that my new plan.

After stopping by the house, I pulled some cash from the bank, and made my way towards the tire place but thought about that older gentleman and went to look for him.

As I drove up to “Albertsons,” I didn’t see him, so I walked around for a bit but couldn’t find him, so I asked Holy Spirit to reveal him to me and carried on with my day.

…bought the tires, took Katie to work, and thought about a pile of blankets that needed to be washed before giving them away. The thought about the blankets didn’t go away, so I headed to the laundry mat. You’ll never believe who I ran into.

After putting the blankets in the wash, I knew, right away, that I was NOT to look at my phone because that makes me unapproachable, and I KNEW God had me there for a reason, so I walked around the shopping center.

Eventually, I made it back to the laundry mat to check on my loads, and as I turned around, I ran into that same man from “Albertsons!” He was still asking for money, so I had him follow me to my car. (All I had on me were the quarters for the wash.)

As I was unlocking my car, I asked him if he wanted prayer. He said, “No, that’s okay. My girlfriend and I will pray along the way.” Right then, I decided to only give him some quarters.

You see, when he denied prayer, I also smelled alcohol, so I deemed him not worthy of the money “God” had planned for me to give him.

As I was counting out three dollars in quarters, I heard God say, “Who are YOU to judge what he’s worth?”

Ouch!

As I handed him the coins, he was SO appreciative and began to cry. He started to tell me how he was so full of fear: fifty-six years old and on the streets; no job; family turned away from him…hopeless. I never felt so wrong in my life.

As he was talking, I grabbed the money I was “supposed” to give him. When I handed it to him, he hugged me so tight, and as we hugged, I prayed for him, and as we let go, I continued to pray for him, declaring truth into his flooded eyes.

We continued talking for awhile, and I just reminded him of hope and faith,and I think he hugged me like three more times. He was so dirty, so appreciative, so sad, and so happy, all at the same time.

It’s not for me to judge who deserves what. It’s for me to hear God’s voice, follow His direction, and BE love for those around me.

Afterwards, I met a wonderful woman inside. We shared life stories with each other and exchanged contact info. It was just a really good time and a really hard lesson wrapped in one.