A young homeless victim of sexual and emotional abuse helping a woman who can’t get the time of day from passers by gets The Record’s Mark Reidy thinking.
By Mark Reidy
Late one night I watched Clare hobble aimlessly up and down the city streets looking lost and alone. She stopped in the shadows and began to ask passer-bys for money, but the responses were not very positive. Perhaps people were discouraged by her lack of co-ordination and her slurring.
She eventually abandoned her fruitless endeavour and withdrew deeper into the cover of darkness. Then along came Helen. Young, homeless and burdened with a mental illness, Helen is one of the most vulnerable people living on the streets. She spotted Clare sitting on her own and approached her. A conversation ensued before Helen hailed a taxi and spoke to the driver.
I approached to see what was happening. Helen was placing Clare gently into the vehicle and handing the driver ten dollars. “Not enough”, said the driver, so Helen dug deeper into her small purse and withdrew another twenty, leaving her with only a few coins. “You look after yourself”, she said to Clare as she rubbed her back. “And if you have any money left, buy yourself some lunch tomorrow”, she added. Clare nodded and smiled meekly as the taxi pulled out.
Helen explained to me that Clare suffered with cerebral palsy and that she lived with her grandmother, who had told her that she wasn’t allowed to travel on public transport at night. “It’s too dangerous for her to stay out here”, Helen told me. “She needs to be at home where it’s safe”. And Helen, who has been a victim of physical and sexual abuse in her time on the street, certainly knows the dangers.
The episode reminded me of the words Jesus spoke to his disciples as he pointed out the woman who dropped a few coins into the treasury, “…this poor widow has put in more than all… for they have contributed out of their abundance; but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, her whole living” (Mk 12:43).
The incident I witnessed with Helen was indeed a humbling moment, because it highlighted just how little I actually give of myself. It is very easy to equate Christianity with charitable acts, but the fact is, the two can be mutually exclusive. Is there an element of self-sacrifice to my giving, or do I only give of my abundance?
I found it a challenging question to ask myself in the light of Helen’s response. There was no thought in her mind of keeping her money in reserve; she was confronted with a person in need and she responded with the love that Jesus advocated. Her giving would have personal ramifications – it meant denying herself for the sake of another.
The episode gave me a clearer picture of my own heart.
When it comes to giving at a personal cost, my own reaction, often masked by “good deeds”, more closely resembles the young man who asked Jesus how he could best serve him (Matt 19:21).
When he was told that if he wished to be perfect, he should sell all that he had and give the money to the poor, he walked away very sorrowful.
This does not necessarily relate to an inventory of one’s possessions, but rather to an inventory of one’s heart. Where does my security lie? What am I unwilling to let go of? Is it my money, my time, my work, my family, my hobbies, my fears, my addictions, my independence … the very word “my”? Do any of these anchor me to this world to the point that I am not free to give beyond my abundance?
These are questions that I won’t answer here, but I do know that there is a young lady sleeping on the cold streets of Perth, who may possess nothing that is valuable to this world, but who carries with her a treasure that can enrich us all.