Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Difference Black Pants Can Make

Daniel. If I had to guess I would say he was 17, maybe 18. We met him on our most recent Wednesday morning trip to downtown Augusta and meeting him was one of the many blessings we have received since we began this ministry.

See, in our ministry many of the people we meet are older, tired, worn down and, quite honestly, "street weary". They've been stuck in their circumstance for so long and everything they’ve done to try to escape their situation has failed. So they feel...well, hopeless.

But not Daniel. He was young & his enthusiasm and eagerness to "get out" was contagious. He still had hope.

He walked over to the back of the car where we were distributing clothes, biscuits, and Bibles. He introduced himself and I asked him if there was anything he needed. He looked at me and said, "I need black pants." I thought it was an odd request.

"Man, I've got lots of pants, just not any black ones," I said as I began shuffling through a box, looking for something that could substitute.

"They really need to be black," he said.

"Okay man, I'm sure I can get my hands on some black pants for you by the next time we come down." My curiosity was beyond peaked. So I asked him, "Daniel, why do you have to have black pants?"

He pulled his thin jacket back to proudly reveal a logo on his black collared shirt. I recognized the logo. Pizza Hut. “Cause, man. I’ve gotta have clothes for my job!” It was then that I noticed the pair of pants he had on. They too were black, kind of. It was clear that they hadn’t been washed recently & they were, no doubt, his only pair.

We talked a bit more; some about how he ended up standing outside the day shelter behind us, but mostly about his plans to, one day, never see it again. I could see it written all over his face – this kid was going to change his situation. I was inexplicably proud of this young man and I hadn’t known him 5 minutes.

The skeptics never fail to ask us, “How do you know that the guy you just gave that coat to isn’t going trade it for drugs?” Well, we don’t. Maybe he will. Hopefully he won't. But let me ask this: What if we allowed these questions to keep us from going to the needy out of fear that the clothes & food that our incredible, selfless donors give would end up on the “homeless black market”?

Then we wouldn’t meet people like Daniel.

Consider this: What if finding Daniel a new pair of black pants meant he could keep his job at Pizza Hut? And what if his job allowed him to save enough to afford and apartment? Then, what if he kept hope and was able to attend college one day? And what if Daniel, one day, became a successful business owner, a doctor, a judge, a senator, a pastor? What if Daniel became the next Martin Luther King, Jr.? Or the next Colin Powell? Or the next Billy Graham?

Look, I know it sounds “big”. But, what if the new pair of black pants we find Daniel are enough to make an impact for generations to come? I believe that the little things we do in life make the biggest impact.

So, we’ll find Daniel a pair of black pants. Or two.


Be Love,


Jamie for Kingdom Here

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