rewards

yesterday was a good day, a rewarding day - and it may take a while to explain why it was that way, but i will try to be brief.
first: i spoke for a while with a young lady in the chapel. she was having a bit of a rough day and just wanted to talk. she was really frustrated with a lot of the other kids in the shelter, how some of them don't appreciate the staff or the services that the program offers. She said "i can tell you guys care, and i love you all for that". She meant it. This poor girl hasn't encountered much love in her life, and she truly appreciated people that showed her just a little bit of compassion. It was so good for me to hear that.
number two: later in the evening there was a motivational speaker coming in - while we were waiting for people to show up, a couple of the guys were talking. one of them has been at the shelter for a few weeks, and he's been in the chapel just about every time i had it open. during our time together, he has done most of the talking - he is a really great kid, has been through a lot, and has learned a lot from where he has been. I really don't feel like I have done much for him. But as the three of us were talking last night, this kid recommended me to his friend. He described me as a cool dude, who is real and who has a lot of wisdom. I'm not sure what my face looked like but my mind was running, trying to remember even one thing that I had said or done that would make him think that - I couldn't think of one. Somehow, though, I had made an impact. That....was rewarding.
last of all: i was on my way out from work and i stopped at a pizza place on the corner because they have slices of pizza for a dollar. as i stood in line, a young man (roughly my own age) finally worked up the courage to ask me the line he had probably going over in his head for the last few minutes: "excuse me sir, do you have a dollar so I can have a piece of pizza?" At that moment I froze - this has always been a dilemma for me, especially now that I encounter beggars more often in the city. obviously, yes, i could spare a dollar - but i can't reasonably give every time someone asks me if i do. so sometimes i do, others i don. then the bible says that if someone asks you for something, and its in your power to give it, then you should. this is my dilemma. so there i am, frozen with this young man looking at me. after a few seconds of silence (although it seems longer) he says "if you can't than just say so". As he said this my mind though a million things at once: how many people had refused to help him out, how many had ignored him, how many had dismissed him as lazy, or given him some other stereotype. As all these things went through my head, I answered him honestly - I said "yeah, I can do that". He said thank you, but showed no emotion - (how many times had he been forced to degrade himself, swallow his pride and beg just to feed himself). Then I tried something that neither of us expected, I asked "do you want a soda, too?" You should have seen the smile that came across his face. He said "are you serious" and I just smiled back. He must have said thank you 50 times in the next two minutes that we were standing in line. That was honestly the most rewarding moment of my day, maybe since I've been here. If only you could have seen his smile. Peace.