The Walmart parking lot, Anywhere, USA is not normally where I would choose to be. And certainly not in the middle of a hot day. But my wife and I had a particular item on our shopping list, so we were heading to the store. Bawling of several small children – screaming really, was coming from a car parked in the sun a few spaces away. A man with a bottle of water was speaking through the windows to them.
Ten minutes later, as we returned with our shopping, the car and the crying children were still there. We spoke to an exhausted young adult (an older sister perhaps?) inside the hot vehicle surrounded by children. She may have been too exhausted to do more for them in the extreme heat. My wife was first to ask if we could get them water and something to eat.
“Chips?”, the children cried. “Could we have chips?”
After a second trip through Walmart, and about $16 in bottled water and potato chips handed out to the children and woman, we went on our way. We hoped that they might not be there much longer. Could the children’s mother been working in that Walmart? That would have meant they had been there for several hours. Why would anyone park a family there, and not in what little shade existed at the edge of the lot?
It had not crossed my mind until later that this family might be living in that car. Have I become accustomed to not see dozens of homeless living on sidewalks, beside warehouses, and under bridges? We each choose to do what we can where we can. And I am at peace with that mindset. Volunteering tomorrow to help with a “remembrance walk” for victims of suicide, I know there are many willing to help, knowing people are dealing with things that others prayerfully never will experience. I understand this to be “paying it forward”. Personally, it is a tenet of faith, in that what peace or happiness I have now is only due to the Grace shown me. I have an obligation to help others to find solace.
Author’s note: the image used is representative of homelessness and does not depict the individuals in this post.
It's a Dog's Life 