So, I pretty much have the coolest husband in the world. I have a strong desire to give and to serve, but there's also this stingy thorn in me that makes me think, "Okay, what is the cheapest way I can help this person out?"
On our honeymoon, we had stopped in Brigham City to eat some food and put gas in our car. On the way to the freeway, we saw this guy holding up a cardboard sign that said, "BOISE" and just as we were passing him, I thought, "Oh, we're driving to Boise right now! We could totally pick him up!" Apparently, Mark had the same thought, because instead of getting on the freeway, he made a U-turn and asked if I would be okay with picking the stranger up. Of course it was contingent on how comfortable we felt with him once he got in the car ...
Turns out he was on his way to Boise to see his girlfriend (or fiancee, I can't remember). He didn't have a car and she was up there and they'd just had a fight or something and that morning they had been talking on the phone and he told her he was going to find a way to go see her. I don't exactly remember the whole story (it was 5 years ago!) but he thought he was being terribly romantic and was really excited that someone had stopped to give him a ride. It was an enjoyable trip.
A few years later, on our way back from one of our annual trips to the Oregon Coast with Mark's family, we saw another guy on the side of the road. He had a big suitcase tied to a board with wheels and a dog. Don't ask me how we managed to fit him into our 2-door Honda Civic ... but somehow we managed it. I remember cutting my hand on a nail that was sticking out of the board (glad I was up-to-date on my tetanus shots! ha ha ha!) and he was kind of a crazy conspiracy theorist. He was a car repairman who had lived all over the country and had just finished living in Hawaii. "It was time for a change of pace, something new. So I want to go to Idaho Falls." Really? After Hawaii, Idaho Falls is where it's at? O.o;
So we dropped him and his dog off at some gas station in Idaho Falls and he merrily went on his way. After that, we kind of agreed we weren't going to pick up hitchhikers again. I was pregnant.
Last month, we went house-hunting in Austin. A girl at one of the apartment complexes recommended we eat dinner at a place called Chuy's, where they have great Tex-Mex food. I'm not exactly sure what "Tex-Mex" is, because it seems to me like it's more like real Mexican food than the "Mexican" food found in other places in the US ... Wikipedia doesn't help me too much. Apparently the other Mexican food is "New Mexican" food, which explains why the Mexican food I grew up with ion Arizona seemed different from what I found in Matamoros/Cabo/Puerto Vallarta/Mazatlan, and why "Tex-Mex" felt more like Mexican food than what I thought was Mexican food ... for some reason, I grew up thinking "Tex-Mex" was Taco Bell compared to real Mexican food.
I still can't figure out whether Tex-Mex or New-Mex is more Mexican. I LIKE BOTH.
Anywho. Chuy's was really tasty and I was super-excited that we had a bunch of leftovers to take home. On our way back to the freeway, we passed a hungry homeless guy with a sign. I don't make a habit of carrying cash on me because credit cards are more secure and do a better job at recording my spending habits. Anyway. I happened to have a $5 and Mark suggested we give the guy our leftovers, too. I knew he was right, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking, "siiiiigh! I was so looking forward to eating my leftovers, too! Why can't we give him something off the dollar menu at Wendy's or something?!" The guy's eyes lit up and he blessed us when we gave him the money and the food.
We are so fortunate.
And, finally, last week we went to Disneyland for my birthday (still promise a post full of drama, intrigue, and car trouble! or at least one of the three!) On Saturday morning, we went to Subway to buy some sandwiches to eat for lunch. Disneyland is awesome in the fact that they let you bring in food and don't force you to buy theirs. :) Anyway. I met a nice skinny homeless black guy while crossing the street who asked where I was from. "Does it snow in Utah? They say if you can't handle the cold you shouldn't move up north. I wouldn't be able to handle it, considering what I've got." and he smiled and waved towards the scraggly sweatshirt he was wearing. He wished me a nice day and we parted ways.
Inside Subway, I looked at the menu, thinking, "I know I like both turkey and ham sandwiches, and the ham sandwich is one of their $5 footlongs, so I'll save a buck and get a ham sandwich." Mark and Carolyn were a little behind me and when Mark walked in, he said, "Let's get a turkey sub for the guy I saw you talking to at the light. He just started talking to me and said he'd really like a turkey sandwich." I kind of tried to get Mark to give him the ham sandwich instead (because I wanted a turkey sandwich, too, and had already ordered the ham sandwich!) and realized it was a really silly argument ... so we got the guy a footlong turkey sub and went on our way.
Anywho. I'm thankful to have such a generous husband who makes me laugh at myself when I have petty thoughts like, "Aw, but ... leftovers!!!" and "but I want the turkey sub!" Really, it means so much more to them than it does to me. There is so much we can do to bless the lives of others. Sometimes it's something personal like service, and other times it's something material like food. We have much to spare.
No comments:
Post a Comment