Night at the River Walk

Drew, Jamie, Caleb, Emilie and I went down to the River Walk after dinner to check out the Christmas lights. It was a perfect night- clear skies with a little chill in the air. Of course it was obvious we were tourists because we were in light jackets while the Texans were in full winter blizzard gear. We took the River Walk cruise which was the perfect way to see all the lights.... everything was so pretty! Overall it was such a pleasant evening but Caleb came home a little more exposed to life.

On our walk to the River Walk from the parking garage we passed by a homeless lady. She was sitting on the sidewalk, hunched over with a coat over her head. Caleb was curious by this and asked me who the lady was. I answered that she was a lady without a home. After a few minutes I felt a tug on my sleeve as Caleb pulled me down to his face. "I wish I could do something for her Mom. Could we give her money?", he asked. I explained how sometimes money wasn't the best way to help people because they may use it for bad things so we decided to get her food. After the cruise we visited Starbucks for hot chocolates and Caleb picked out a Turkey sandwich for the lady on the street.

We walked around a little bit but found her walking down the street. Neither one of us knew what to expect and perhaps I should have prepared him more for the situation- but things didn't quite go as planned when Caleb tried to hand her the sandwich. She ended up yelling at him and spitting in my face. Poor Caleb was utterly shocked and so scared. I held him in my arms and asked him what he was thinking. He simply replied, "I don't know but I wish I hadn't gotten her a sandwich".

It took a lot of talking to help Caleb understand what he tried to do wasn't a bad thing and even more talking to explain that we don't always know the best ways to help people but that shouldn't stop us from trying. My heart ached for Caleb and the lady tonight. It was tough to see Caleb be discouraged from loving people and it was even tougher to see a woman so bitter and sad that she missed a genuine gift of love from a child. Caleb and I decided the best thing we could do to help her in this case was to pray for her safety and salvation. And for Caleb- the best thing I can do is to pray that his love for people continues to grow stronger and stronger each day.

My dear sweet prince Caleb, I hope you will read this entry 15 or so years from now and be able to see this evening with new eyes. One action doesn't have only one result... that one action has a ripple effect beyond what your eyes can see. You opened my eyes today- you showed me what an incredible young mang you are developing into. You also showed me how calloused I have become. A woman was obviously in need just a foot away from me and I didn't think anything of it. It was you who woke me up tonight and I thank you. And don't forget the verse your daddy wanted you to read.... 1 Corinthians 15:58. We love you, buddy.