She sat there, on the corner of the street… her sign requesting help facing the passers-by but she didn’t turn to meet them. Perhaps she couldn’t bear their unmet gaze, perhaps she was ashamed at what her life has become, or perhaps she has grown accustomed to feeling nothing at all.
I was already running a few minutes late for prayer, that’s how we start our Thursday’s and then after I needed to set up for a conference call - I was already too late to stop and answer this need but… I pulled into a parking lot just across her corner and got out, walked to her and said hello.
I thought I would see evidence of substances that led to this life she was now living but I didn’t see that. I thought I would hear lies and the script of usual things homeless say but I didn’t. I believe I saw her and heard her as God did. She was young, more clean than I thought she would be, pretty, and soft spoken. I felt bold questions bubble up:
“Why are you out here and why do you stay?”
“Your sign says you have needs, what are they?”
”It seems to me, as I saw you sitting there that you are accustomed to not being seen.”
She was honest with me so I met her with the same. She did not want what I offered, she just needed cash. She shared with me that her family fell apart and she could no longer live with them. She said she left with no ID, no social security number, no birth certificate and she said that every attempt to improve her life has been a struggle since she has no identity.
I listened to her, she was shifty-eyed with me and only once or twice to meet my gaze. When I realized the only thing I was suppose to do was pray. I asked her if I could she said yes and so I did. And then I felt words again, not mine, but His… He said, “Tell her she has intrinsic value to me.” I touched her slender arm and looked into her eyes as I did.
I have since looked up the definition of intrinsic value, which is typically a financial term and found this: “Intrinsic value is a way of describing the perceived or true value of an asset. This is not always identical to the current market price because assets can be over- or undervalued.” What she needed was money… that is what she would accept… and the Lord wanted me to tell her that she had intrinsic value. Value to Him… that He, the God of all the universe thought to create her, thought to put her on earth in this time and space. And, not only that… He then came to this earth to die for her, to redeem her and bring her everlasting life.
Intrinsic Value…. Priceless to God. Undervalued by the world.
I shared with her that I was not there to give her money. I offered to take her to lunch, buy her food - she declined and stayed on the corner. I touched her arm and told her that I hope to see her again. I left, looking back a few times, she never turned back around.
The conversation has stayed with me and I cannot get her out of my heart. Today I went to look for her… I cannot help but think about so many things - she is someone’s daughter... she was once a baby in someone’s arms… has she run away... is she on the streets tonight… is she selling herself… why did I only share the sentence… is she ok?
Today Dan and I went shopping and breakfast, we took time to catch-up from the week we have had and I shared with him about my interaction with this homeless girl. I told him that I realized the enemy did a number on her life, somehow succeeding to break up a home, cause her to beg on the streets and literally robbed her of her identity. But the God of the universe knew her when she was being “knit together in her mother's womb” (Psalm 139:13). He knows her laying down and her rising up (Psalm 139:2). He knows that when she goes to the pit, He is right there (Psalm 139:8)… and He knew her yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And for a moment He asked someone else to go meet her, speak with her, share a prayer and remind her that He values her… She is His… She has intrinsic value (Matthew 10:29-31).
Her name biblically translates to “clothed with salvation” and the name means eternal beauty... Very fitting considering. Her name is Taylor.
I was already running a few minutes late for prayer, that’s how we start our Thursday’s and then after I needed to set up for a conference call - I was already too late to stop and answer this need but… I pulled into a parking lot just across her corner and got out, walked to her and said hello.
I thought I would see evidence of substances that led to this life she was now living but I didn’t see that. I thought I would hear lies and the script of usual things homeless say but I didn’t. I believe I saw her and heard her as God did. She was young, more clean than I thought she would be, pretty, and soft spoken. I felt bold questions bubble up:
“Why are you out here and why do you stay?”
“Your sign says you have needs, what are they?”
”It seems to me, as I saw you sitting there that you are accustomed to not being seen.”
She was honest with me so I met her with the same. She did not want what I offered, she just needed cash. She shared with me that her family fell apart and she could no longer live with them. She said she left with no ID, no social security number, no birth certificate and she said that every attempt to improve her life has been a struggle since she has no identity.
I listened to her, she was shifty-eyed with me and only once or twice to meet my gaze. When I realized the only thing I was suppose to do was pray. I asked her if I could she said yes and so I did. And then I felt words again, not mine, but His… He said, “Tell her she has intrinsic value to me.” I touched her slender arm and looked into her eyes as I did.
I have since looked up the definition of intrinsic value, which is typically a financial term and found this: “Intrinsic value is a way of describing the perceived or true value of an asset. This is not always identical to the current market price because assets can be over- or undervalued.” What she needed was money… that is what she would accept… and the Lord wanted me to tell her that she had intrinsic value. Value to Him… that He, the God of all the universe thought to create her, thought to put her on earth in this time and space. And, not only that… He then came to this earth to die for her, to redeem her and bring her everlasting life.
Intrinsic Value…. Priceless to God. Undervalued by the world.
I shared with her that I was not there to give her money. I offered to take her to lunch, buy her food - she declined and stayed on the corner. I touched her arm and told her that I hope to see her again. I left, looking back a few times, she never turned back around.
The conversation has stayed with me and I cannot get her out of my heart. Today I went to look for her… I cannot help but think about so many things - she is someone’s daughter... she was once a baby in someone’s arms… has she run away... is she on the streets tonight… is she selling herself… why did I only share the sentence… is she ok?
Today Dan and I went shopping and breakfast, we took time to catch-up from the week we have had and I shared with him about my interaction with this homeless girl. I told him that I realized the enemy did a number on her life, somehow succeeding to break up a home, cause her to beg on the streets and literally robbed her of her identity. But the God of the universe knew her when she was being “knit together in her mother's womb” (Psalm 139:13). He knows her laying down and her rising up (Psalm 139:2). He knows that when she goes to the pit, He is right there (Psalm 139:8)… and He knew her yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And for a moment He asked someone else to go meet her, speak with her, share a prayer and remind her that He values her… She is His… She has intrinsic value (Matthew 10:29-31).
Her name biblically translates to “clothed with salvation” and the name means eternal beauty... Very fitting considering. Her name is Taylor.
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