I was parked in front of the mall wiping off
my car. I had just come from the car wash
and was waiting for my wife to get out of
work. Coming my way from across the
parking lot was what society would consider
a bum. From the looks of him, he had no
car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money.
There are times when you feel generous but
there are other times that you just don't
want to be bothered. This was one of those
"don't want to be bothered times."

"I hope he doesn't ask me for any money,"
I thought.

He didn't.

He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus
stop but he didn't look like he could have
enough money to even ride the bus.

After a few minutes he spoke.

"That's a very pretty car," he said.

He was ragged but he had an air of dignity
around him. His scraggly blond beard kept
more than his face warm.

I said, "Thanks," and continued wiping
off my car.

He sat there quietly as I worked. The
expected plea for money never came.
As the silence between us widened
something inside said, "Ask him if he needs
any help." I was sure that he would say
"yes" but I held true to the inner voice.

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

He answered in three simple but profound
words that I shall never forget. We often
look for wisdom in great men and women.

We expect it from those of higher
learning and accomplishments. I expected
nothing but an outstretched grimy hand.
He spoke the three words that shook me.

"Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful
and important, above a bum in the street,
until those three words hit me like a twelve
gauge shotgun.

Don't we all?

I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or
a place to sleep, but I needed help. I
reached in my wallet and gave him not
only enough for bus fare, but enough to
get a warm meal and shelter for the day.

Those three little words still ring true. No
matter how much you have, no matter how
much you have accomplished, you need help
too. No matter how little you have, no
matter how loaded you are with problems,
even without money or a place to sleep,
you can give help. Even if it's just a
compliment, you can give that.

You never know when you may see someone
that appears to have it all. They are waiting
on you to give them what they don't have.
A different perspective on life, a glimpse
at something beautiful, a respite from daily
chaos, that only you through a torn world
can see. Maybe the man was just a homeless
stranger wandering the streets.

Maybe he was more than that. Maybe he
was sent by a power that is great and wise,
to minister to a soul too comfortable in
themselves.

Maybe God looked down, called an Angel,
dressed him like a bum, then said,
"Go minister to that man cleaning the
car, that man needs help."

Don't We All?