The Park

     I had the most interesting experience today at the park.  Was it an experience? Maybe more like a living parable before my eyes. So....I took little Georgia to the park today (the 9 mos old I nanny for who looooooves the swings)  No sooner do we get to the park then rain drops start to fall.  Luckily they stayed few and Miss Georgia was able to have a hay-day being pushed about.   As I'm pushing her my eyes wonder to all the homeless folks in the park.  I began to wonder, "what do they do in the rain?  How would Jesus care for these folks?"  As I peered about the park, my eyes focussed on a middle aged woman who was unlocking the trunk of her car. She began to pull out what looked like a big sheet.  She lugged it over to a homeless woman's pile of "trash," or rather treasure depending on how you look at it.  So the woman begins to carefully cover the homeless woman's stuff to protect it from the rain.  Oh my gosh, how kind!    

     Now the homeless gal was no where in sight at this point.  The clouds start getting darker and I know it's time for Georgia and I to make a run for it.  As I'm walking on the sidewalk, I hear an old woman bickering and heading towards the Good Samaritan lady.  "Don't you put that over my stuff!  Get it off you !#@*..."  WHAT?  A fiery attack ensues and the woman begins to take the tarp off.  I walked by telling the Good Samaritan lady I saw her and how kind of her to do that...

     I left totally befuddled?  What was that? Then it dawned on me.  We are sometimes like that homeless lady with God--he comes to offer us his safe shelter, grace, kindness and what do we do? We push him out.  Tell him we don't need him and can take care of ourselves just fine.  Boy do we miss it sometimes!

     And that my friends was my living parable today at Mitchell Park.