God is very proud of me today.  Eerlier today, while I was on my way to work, I happened to come across a poor beggar woman who looked like she hadn't had a decent meal in quite a while.  She was pitifully scrawny and she was dressed in rags that were once clothes.

She looked hungry.  Very hungry.  She looked up at me, her eyes begging.  I knew exactly what she was thinking:  Lord, I hope this woman gives me a little spare change, maybe a few dollars, so I can eat.

I felt sorry for the woman.  She had to have been in her fifties, but she was probably younger: being homeless does that to a person: it ages you prematurely.  She looked like she was about to cry.

I reached into my purse, where I pulled out three dollars.  I handed the three bills to the woman and told her to get something to eat; she looked like she could use something in her stomach.

When she asked me if she had to repay me, I told her no, she didn't have to.  She probably couldn't afford to anyway; otherwise, why else would she be on the street without a place to call home?  I told her to keep the change.

"God bless you, child!" the woman cried as she flung her arms around me.  I hugged her back, then I wiped the grime/dust from my clothes and then proceeded to make my way to work.

All day long, I kept thinking of that poor homeless woman I'd given the three dollars to.  I was hoping she would at least get a donut, perhaps a cup of coffee; donuts and a cup of coffee weren't that expensive, I surmised.  I said some prayers on her behalf, asking God to intervene in her situation and let other people come to her aid, so she wouldn't have to struggle to find a place to sleep/live or dig around in trash cans to find something that was edible.

While I worried about the woman, I also felt a sense of joy.  God had purposely brought that homeless woman into my life, to see how I would respond.  Well, while most people would have probably dismissed her or ignored her altogether, I decided to "be a blessing" and bring a little bit of God's love into a hurting person's world.

I hoped that I would see the woman again on my way home from work.  Maybe I would; then again, maybe not. Maybe the woman was an angel in disguise; people at church were always talking about "angels unaware" or "entertaining angels"; you never knew where an angel might be.  The homeless woman could have, quite possibly, been an angel in disquise.  I'm just glad I was there to help her in her time of need; maybe as a result of my compassionate/giving haert, I would get a blessing that would be beyond my wildest dreams.

~To be continued.~