spread like fire

yesterday i traveled to harlem to attend an Outreach called Don't Walk By that tended to the homeless. it was an amazing experience to just go out there and see all these people who volunteered their time to just simply reach out to those who are so often ignored and deemed insignificant, those who are so inopportune that they have to collect bottles to make a living, sleep on cardboard boxes on others' steps, those who are so unfairly unentitled to showers or clean clothes or jackets in this cold weather. so many people from all different races and ages from all different places showed up just to help out- even from out of the country. there was no guarantee that we would even find homeless people since it was so cold outside, yet not even weather or the risk of catching a cold stopped them.. it was truly humbling to see that. a passage that pretty much summed up the true purpose of the event is in Luke 14:21 when Jesus says:

"...Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame."

it is these people that Jesus describes- the poor, the crippled, the blind, and lame- whom He truly loves. God loves the poor for they have nothing else but spirit.. and i think that's something that's truly admirable. these homeless still had the spirit and the faith to take my hand, hold it and say "God bless you." all i could do for them was embrace their hand for those few seconds, return the phrase and smile.. but i wanted to do so much more. there were not even too many homeless that came back to the church.. but for the few who made it back, i think God really showed them His grace through these volunteers. one deaf man cried because he was so touched that young people were trying to help him. of all people, they chose me, he probably was thinking. but i really think it was God who pursued these people and it is God who continues to pursue them. those whose hearts are open and soft and are ready to accept something so much bigger and better, i believe, will truly be saved. walking around the streets saying our prayers outloud and asking God to bless the neighborhood really instilled in me this great wave of encouragement and love.. and it was just God's presence that really fueled me throughout the day and allowed me to battle the weather and other circumstances. through it all, i must keep on reminding myself that it is not me who works, but it is Him who works through me.
and how i love being used :)