Tonight my #2 gave away her socks.
I own 14 pairs of socks, 3 have never been opened, at least 4 pairs have rarely been worn.
I currently have 47 non matching socks in a basket. apparently i was thinking their match-er was going to climb in their and find it's partner...like, about 9 months ago...when I moved them from a drawer where they had been for an undisclosed amount of time. (hey, i cant tell you everything!)
ok, let me back up a bit...
A few months back #2 decided to start a bible study with some girls from her team. They have met regularly, and a few even went on a retreat with her back in February. I love these girls. They had me at H-E-L-L-O. Today these sweet girlfriends came over to make cupcakes (120 of them!) so we could take them downtown to share with some friends who live under bridges, behind dumpsters, on street corners, and even sidewalks. Did I tell you that I love these sweet girls!:)
they finished up on time and headed home. We packed up every stinkin' one of those delicious cupcakes & grabbed a few of our growing collection of hotel soaps/shampoo’s/lotions – you know, the kind of “free” stuff you throw away, or hide under your bathroom sink in case you should run out at home!…The whole way down there (about 30 minutes tonight! Yippee! Very little traffic!) #2 was talking about how each of the girls shared at least 3 things that they liked about themselves, and committed to memorize Psalm 45:11…”The King is enthralled with your beauty, honor Him – for He is your Lord.” We talked about how hard it is to say something good about yourself, something you find attractive in you...and then to say it out loud to your friends…h-ello, this is weird at 16…and even at 39!! Can you say uncomfortable? Anyhoo…I kept saying the verse over and over in my head as I drove and listened to her talk...I said it as a prayer for each girl, placing their name in each blank….”The King is enthralled with C’s beauty, The king is enthralled with N’s beauty…with A’s…” until I prayed it about each girl. I love them,… I warned you!
As we pulled into the parking lot downtown to meet our friends, they were already lined up and curved around on the sidewalk. I leaned back and said to my #2 – “whatever you do, look them in the eye…give them dignity and respect and look them in the eye…” I don’t know why I said this. Maybe more as a reminder to myself? I don’t know. I just said it. It seemed important.
As we got out to wait for the rest of the people with the food and table to show, we were quickly greeted by several men and women: David…a former cook, originally from Detroit – doesn’t like to talk about what brought him here to Houston, looking for work as a cook, but recently got a pass to the rec center and has started working out some….Dwayne, he’s from here, looks for work over off McGowan sometimes, where they pick up people to do day jobs. He’s looking for work too…Then there’s Mary…She like music, and she burst out in song and started to sing a beautiful gospel …but she quickly clarified that she likes a little Reba too….then there’s a guy that goes by the name Hemingway…he was a cook in Florida for over 30 years…he’s in his 70’s now. He said he’d write down a few of his favorite recipes, and too look for him the next time I came down so he could give them to me. (Has he already decided I’m a poor cook?! Haha!) We sat with Todd and Margie…Todd’s been sober for 2 solid weeks, goes to NA meetings off Montrose, because he can’t find any closer to home (downtown). He needs a job too, but he and Margie had the good fortune of finding a mattress beside a dump today and they were De-e-e-e-lighted to be sleeping on it tonight! Yay for them!! Margie’s from Louisiana, she said Todd is the best thing that has happened to her, as he protects her and they help each other stay out of trouble. Last week someone stole her food stamps, Social Security card etc. But she was quick to say she has a plan, and she is working on getting new ones already. They gratefully took the last 6 cupcakes to snack on for the night and tomorrow. It helps Todd stay sober. Addicts tend to have a bit of a sweet tooth….Rick is a regular, he’s got a good lead on a job – if he can just get to the location across town. He always helps out with clean up and setting up the food. He’s a great help and always very gracious. These are some of our new friends…but for some reason, Mary (the singer!)Found a sweet place in our heart’s tonight. As she stood in line for dinner, my #2 went over with another friend to talk with her and pass the time. Somewhere between, “how’s your day?” and “what’s for dinner?” Mary mentioned that her feet were hurting, and she sure wished she had some socks! My #2 looked at her feet and realized she was wearing men’s shoes, and they were probably rubbing blisters. So she sat down, took off her shoes and socks, and said, “Here you go…take mine.”
I wasn’t there. But my friend Cara was and she relayed the whole thing to me in whispers as we unloaded cupcakes. My eyes filled with tears…and so did her’s. (Hey! Were mamas, we cry over these things!) As I stared across the parking lot at the growing line of people waiting for dinner…maybe their only meal today…I had to choke back the tears as I looked into their eyes, and tried to memorize their faces as I heard the subtle, quiet whisper of God in my ear saying…, "look them in the eye...The King is enthralled with THEIR beauty…”
The silly, teenage, cupcake makers…The tired, worn hands that made the soup…the ones who stopped between jobs and errands to purchase chips and cheese…the one who drove there with 3 cackling ladies…the one who drove there alone just to pray over their meals and pray with each one who requested specific prayer for a need…AJ, who “happened” to be paying a ticket and was distracted by the long line and came over to see what was going on…the ones who organized and invited us, and brought a friend to take part…the ones who fought traffic to get home, only to get back in traffic to go back…the ones who stood in line patiently…the ones who grumbled that it was taking too long…the dirty…the clean…the hungry…and the well fed…those with mental dysfunctions…those with addictions they fight…those with ailments we see…and those with wounds we will never know…the desperate, the downtrodden, the jobless, and the joyful…those who scurried away quickly and refused conversation…and those who talked and talked and talked- grateful for a listener…and the girl who gave away her socks…
“The King is enthralled with YOUR beauty; worship Him, for He is your Lord.”
xoxo~