Thirty days of thankfulness! Day 1

Today I am thankful for the homeless man I encountered outside the CVS on my walk to the Mexican restaurant to meet a friend for lunch. He reminded me how far I've come in just three short months and of the many times prior that I was almost there myself. But by the grace of God, I had family and friends that did not allow that to happen and in turn, I made it a priority to pull myself up by my bootstraps and work hard at taking advantage of the opportunities God sent my way, even if I didn't think they were ideal at the time.

I was also reminded that God loves everyone. Yes, I know a lot of people think that we shouldn't give money to homeless people. I've heard every excuse in the book:

1) they need to get a job

2) they are just addicts who will use it to get a fix

3) if they really tried they could help themselves

4) if they hadn't done something wrong to begin with, they wouldn't be in that situation.

You know what? I don't care about any of that. God puts people in my path for a reason. All too many times, He has used them to be a lesson to me--sometimes good, sometimes bad. But occasionally and more often lately, He has put people in my path for ME to be a blessing to, to show them His love for them. What they choose to do with that blessing is between THEM and God, I am only responsible to do MY part. 

I needed reminding of that today because in the midst of the chaos that is sometimes my life--frustration in traffic, dealing with the attitudes of coworkers and teenagers (sometimes one acting like the other!), financial stress, and even waking up to the unexpected like power lines being down in your yard!--I can get too arrogant in MY ability and forget to trust God for everything. 

He is my comforter, my provider, my confidante, my healer, my redeemer, my loving Father, my laughter, my joy and my best friend. He gives and  He takes away and if you ever think that such a thing as being homeless will never happen to you, I hope you never find out how terribly wrong you are. 

Yes, I am thankful for the homeless man being there to remind me that everyone deserves mercy. I am thankful to God that I was able to help him, if only with just a little and more importantly, I am thankful that I took the time to talk with him for a minute and find out some of his story. I am thankful with how blessed I am by the look on his face, grateful for not only the money but for the conversation. I am thankful that I was able to be used by God to show someone love and help them feel human again.

What are you thankful for today? Share below or on your own blog and post a link back below!