Saturday Morning

A Journal Entry From August 1, 2021

Saturday mornings in the summer are officially my favorite. Time goes by a bit slower, brunch becomes a priority, and I take any chance I get to dress nice and make the day an event. Last Saturday was that beautiful picture for me. I slowly got up, made my way to the kitchen, and my roommates and I made breakfast together. The morning consisted of lots of jokes, sips of coffee, and burnt toast. We left for the farmer's market and talked to each vendor, and I fell in love with how they fell in love with Memphis.

After the farmers market, we began to walk to a coffee shop. A homeless man approached me on the way and asked for money. I did not have anything to give, so immediately, I turned my head and apologized. I kept walking only to look back and see my friend confidently approaching this man. She smiled genuinely at him and did not hesitate in offering up her food. I was in awe of my friend's character. Mercy always overflowed.

I have begun to ask her how she effortlessly displays such kindness legitimately. As she started talking to me, a homeless woman approached us, and my friend answered my question through her example. She invited this woman, who I will name Summer, to come inside the coffee shop with us. Summer expressed over and over again how hot she was. Water, food, and a place to stay were all that she needed. The most basic and essential needs for a human being. We sat her down at a table near the shop entrance, got her some food and water, and began to listen to her story.

Her life was much more challenging than the stories I had heard earlier that day at the farmers market. The vendors who found Memphis as a place of awe and wonder were not the same picture that Summer painted for me herself. She was born and raised in Memphis, yet the hand that she was dealt never gave her the capability to provide what she needed. Instead, she lived her life wandering the dangerous streets because they were filled with busy crowds. In those busy crowds, only there could Summer try and grab the attention of another and hope that maybe they could provide for her what she could not for herself. I cannot say that I fell in love with that part of Memphis.

As we all sat and continued to hear broken bits of her story, the manager came from the doors in the back. He avoided speaking and even looking in the direction of Summer. Instead, he looked at us and told all of us we needed to leave because we were crowding the entrance and the store was getting busy. I cannot judge his character. However, when only two others were in the shop, it wasn't easy to believe his narrative. I knew this was only because we brought Summer in the store. Summer was seen as an outcast. Not seen as an individual, not given any dignity or respect.

I regretted not sticking up for Summer that day and not even asking a further question to the manager. So I came back the next day filled with anger and ready to say a word to that manager... I suppose maybe it was good that the store was closed that day.

Questions that have now completely taken over my mind:

Why is it that we have strayed from rightly viewing others as image-bearers of God?

Who is it that is more likely to enter into the gates of heaven?

Why is it that we have become so materialistic and concerned over our well-being that we have genuinely forgotten the needs of another?

Part of my reading this morning was in Jeremiah 22:15-16, "Did not your father eat and drink? And administer justice and righteousness? Then it went well with him. He took up the case of the poor and needy then it went well. Is this not what it means to know me? This is the Lord's declaration."

To know the Lord is to do what He says. To love others as He loves. To see people as He sees them. I write this with tears in my eyes, asking Lord that you would rightly break our hearts as yours breaks for those you love. God helps us realize that when we are obedient to you, you create a deeper relationship with us. God allows us to recognize that when we fight for Biblical justice, when we stick up for the needy when we show mercy and selflessness, we are replicating the example that your son has already done perfectly for us.

When I look at the life of Christ, I see the utmost selflessness and obedience. I see a picture not just of a man who spoke with the outcast but associated Himself with them. He became a servant, obedient even to the point of death. Oh God, I ask for forgiveness for how our silence leads to direct disobedience to you. As a result of failing to view others as you do, we miss you, God. We miss your heart, your fullness, and your love for us.

I suppose that being vulnerable and broken is not just limited to our physical circumstances. I think it is often our material circumstances that point us to the vulnerability of our souls. God, I pray that you give us the heart to love what is broken and vulnerable because you first loved us in our brokenness. You loved Summer first; you loved that manager first. So help us too, Lord, to love justly, with mercy, and with kindness, as you have for us.