$4 Can Make a Man Cry

I love Fridays. Technically, Friday is my "weekend" although I usually end up doing some type of work. But today I had a few hours to kill between lunch and "work". I decided to go to Starbucks for a few hours.

Coffee. Computer. Comfort.

The three things above were all I wanted for a couple hours. Then I met a man who had none of them, and was possibly happier than I often am.

Jeff Talley is his name. I saw him standing in a Wal-mart parking lot, with a cardboard sign and white writing. His sign simply said:

"Anything helps. God bless."

I don't always help homeless people. But I felt something tugging at my heart. So I detoured myself from my Starbucks trip, parked my car in the Wal-mart parking lot, and stepped out of it.

My intention was just to give this man a couple bucks and be on my way. But as soon as I approached him I knew this visit would become more than that.

We talked for over 30 minutes. Felt like we had some sort of connection.

Jeff Talley spent 30 minutes of his time witnessing to me. He made it clear in the beginning that local restaurants spared food for him at times, and the Wal-mart had provided him with a tent, sleeping bag, and a Coleman lantern.

He said he needed nothing more. Then Jeff shared the Gospel.

I let him finish and then told him that I knew Jesus and that us meeting today wasn't an accident. We talked some more. He's a Vietnam Veteran who made some poor choices about ten years ago and life basically crashed down on him.

When we finished our time together, I asked him if there was anything I could do for him. I asked him if he needed anything.

The scruffy, dirty, wrinkled, shaking, cold, homeless looked me in the eye and said:

"I have Jesus. I don't need anything else."

What a story. Quickly my afternoon of Starbucks and tweeting seemed shallow and meaningless.

However, I couldn't leave without giving him something, so I pulled out my wallet and gave him all the cash I had on me: 4 one dollar bills.

I handed it to him and he counted it.

Then this man cried. His eyes teared up out of joy and he couldn't have been more appreciative of four little dollars.

He said, "I hate standing out here every day, doing this. But I have no other options. Thank God for Jesus."

We shook hands, exchanged names, and then I left.

But I have a feeling he'll be seeing me again.