JohnPalmieri.com

My daughter, Abbey, and I had just stepped out from shopping at a local automotive store when we were approached by a middle aged man and his small son. While holding the boys hand and with deep sorrowful urgent eyes the man said; “Excuse me sir but can you spare some money so we can get something to eat?” Immediately, I judged that this guy was looking for some “dope money” and was using the kid to pull my heart strings. I gave him my standard answer; “I can’t give you money but I can buy you something to eat.”all the time figuring that the guy would come up with an excuse as to why he needed cash. I suggested that he meet me at Arbys – 100 yards away. He took me up on the offer and almost ran to the Arbys. Abbey and I jumped in the car and drove to Arbys. I asked Abbey; “Do you want to come in the resturant with me?” Abbey, clever girl that she is, said; “Yes, I want to experience this!” I thought; “Good Girl”.  We entered the Arbys and witnessed a sight that I will never forget. The little boy was scouring the pictures of the hand held menu as if they were scratch and sniff…I could tell that he was hungry. The four of us proceeded to read the menu and while doing so the man revealed that he had a hungry wife and daughter waiting back home in the apartment. He explained that he recently lost his job and had zero dollars – zip, nothing, nada to buy food. Abbey and I began to realize that this was the real deal – a hungry person with no means in the western suburbs of Chicago. We ended up buying four value meals. The man and son happily walked off toward their apartment with the first meal of their day.

The irony of this story is that I had just started reading my first novel by John Grisham – Street Lawyer. So between reading the story of a corporate lawyer become homeless advocate and my daughter and I feeding a hungry family, I began to ask myself; “Is God trying to tell me something?” I think so and yet it’s not a new message from God;

  Matthew 25:35-36