After years of giving cash to people standing on street corners, I was delighted to have the option of offering them something much more substantial, i.e. Bags of Grace. This was what happened when I handed out my very first bag:

 

Sitting at a stop light, I motioned a young woman who was standing by the road with a sign asking for help over to my car and handed her a Bag of Grace. She was obviously surprised and pleased, especially when I pointed out that it included a bottle of water. The light turned green and I proceeded to Office Max to run my errand (this required 3 turns and one more stop at a signal light). I parked my car and started to walk towards the store entrance, when I heard a woman calling, "Ma'am!" "Ma'am!". I turned not sure what to expect and saw a stranger getting out of her car and running towards me. My first thought was that I'd unknowingly cut her off in traffic or something and that the situation was about to become confrontational.

 

Instead, she apologized for stopping me, but wanted to know if I was the woman who had given the homeless girl the bag and bottle of water. I said "yes" and she started to cry and said she thought it was the kindest thing she had ever seen anyone do. I told her about the Bags of Grace program at Bethany and took her back to my car and showed her all the bags I had in my trunk. She was truly overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness, care, love and foresight that had gone into each bag. I agreed with her and assured her I was merely a "delivery person" and invited her to Bethany to check out the services and to get her own bags of grace. Still teary-eyed, she again exclaimed that witnessing my act had truly touched her and made her day. She gave me a big hug and went on her way.

 

Needless to say, I was delighted to think that not only had a homeless person benefited from the Bethany Bags of Grace program, but I was given the opportunity to witness to a stranger and plant a seed on behalf of Bethany. I've been handing out Bags of Grace ever since knowing each time that not only do I offer small comfort to a homeless person, but that every other car sitting at the same light contains at least one person who has the opportunity to witness a small act of kindness....and you never know where and how those acts of kindness will reverberate through the universe.

 

Gayle R. Austin TX