"mr. man"

i sometimes wish i could be a apart of the international Chick-nuggets addiction but i try to shy away from places that enable and basically promote chubby ways. Oddly enough, this morning i found myself in the lot of McD's in need of something quick and easy...so i thought.

join me as i revisit a somewhat enlightening morning. try to imagine one of the dirtiest men you've ever encountered. have you got him? that image of him in your head? now add about a year's worth of grime and matted, stringy, dusty hair, as if he's been working the mine shafts of the 19th century. add some grayish matter under his nails and work it into the cracks of his aging skin. now, place him on a bench outside your nearest McD's during the wee hours of SoCal's winterish morning chill. here is the when ans where of how i met "mr. man". he looked so...broken, overwhelmed and extremely lonely.

with all the cars in the drive-thru and the line-a-bustlin' inside, i wondered how many people passed him by. ignored him as if he didn't exist looking at their shoes or the door handle or anywhere to put his sad sight out of mind. i wondered if i might do the same and then wondered when his last meal might have been.

i did the sheepish greeting i rarely deliver and asked if he had eaten anything. offered some cash but he said he "was too dirty" and they wouldn't let him in. i thought that was bull and the always useful "i'll make them let him in" but i didn't wanna be extra so i just asked him what he wanted. his request was simple, some lemonade and a sausage biscuit please. i got him the meal and added a what ever cash i had in the bag and kinda waited for an opportunity if he wanted to say anything. i didn't know what else i should or could do. so i told God, "lemme know if i can help any other way??" but the man just said, "thank you," and as i turned to go back inside to get him so napkins or catchup of something." mr. man" was gone. straight peaced. like poof, for real.

he was bare-foot with boots in tow and the breakfast bag in hand, but just disappeared. there wasn't really a corner to stealthily duck behind so i thought it so strange and just figured i really couldn't have done anything else. that was all he needed. I was glad i could help. i later saw him down the road crossing the street just as i had last seen him.

God is...God. just when i was feeling extremely lonely wondering why others around me seem to have some semblance of order and joy in their lives i was reminded of what really matters. the basics. though i have my fleeting woes, things could be so much worse, especially now in our fading economy. I have the basics i have hopes of a brighter future. i have more than 50 percent of the world.

I have: friends,family, a stable-ish income but a family that looks out for me, I'm a proud owner of an insurance policy, a working car, and I belong to a God who has blessed me with all of it and so much more.

I may never sing songs in poppy fields nor ford the alps in glee but i have a cushy life compared to some. I also have hopes that this sappy state won't last forever. and i believe this will prove true in the near foreseeable future. most days i feel that this move was a huge mistake but i'm learning with every smoggy sunset that this part of my life is not about me and my comfort. it's about growing and being more involved in things outside myself. so for now i guess it's okay to be lonely and distant cause God can use me wherever i might be if i'm still willing. right?