The Thursday late-night team had a wonderful conversation with a street-friend recently. “Bob” is a real veteran of the streets – he’s been outdoors in the Ottawa area for decades and took the opportunity of a warm evening to impart some of the wisdom that he’s accumulated over the years. One nugget was particularly arresting:
“Penny for your thoughts. People say that! A penny for your thoughts. It’s not the penny that matters though. You see a penny on the ground – it’s not the penny that counts. It’s the thought behind the penny.”
He went on to explain that it’s the heart and mind, the places where the Spirit fills us, that determine the worth of that penny. Does the penny come from love? Is it just one more manifestation of selfishness? Only the Spirit knows in any individual case.
As I reflect on another evening on the streets, of joy and sorrow, of laughter and anger, of victory and defeat, I pray that God’s Holy Spirit of Love will fill all our hearts and minds, and give worth to everything we do.
Amen.
Jeff, Outreach Volunteer
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