A hidden gem

Have you ever noticed those little gems buried in the ordinary?  Have you ever been out somewhere or hanging out with someone and you find one of those little gems?  You know what kind I'm talking about right?

I'm talking about those little life lessons that you learn in ordinary situations with ordinary people under the most ordinary, and sometimes odd situations.  Well recently I had one of those moments.  My moment came while at Manna Station a ministry to feed the homeless and hungry of Columbia on the first Saturday of each month at Wesley UMC on Gervais Street.

While serving meals a gentleman came up and asked could he take a plate home to his girlfriend or fiance (I can't remember which), who was ill or at work (again, I can't remember which).  I gave him our standard answer by repeating to him our policy on taking food outside the building and the policy on extras and extra plates.  A policy we only implemented because we want our guests to come for the devotional not just the food and because we want to be sure we have enough for everyone who comes to dine with us.  Well, anyway, after giving him the stock answer, for some reason I also said, "if we have something left at the end after everyone has been fed, and you stay until the very end of dinner when we start cleaning up, I will see what we can do."

Well, we had more than enough by the grace of God and as we were cleaning up I saw a man standing by the doorway to the kitchen.  He motioned to me and asked if we had anything left.  He was holding a plate in his hand covered with a torn grocery bag and crumpled up pieces of foil.  After a few moments, he reminded me that he had asked to take something to his girlfriend (or fiance).  Since he was already holding a plate I thought we had already given him the extra plate (read revisionist history), so, I asked him what was in the bag.

Now, here is the moment and the gem!  He said to me, "This is my own plate.  I didn't eat anything off of it because I wasn't sure if you would have enough for me to take to my girlfriend (or fiance).  So in case you didn't have any I was going to give her mine."  Boom!  Did you see that?

That was the gem!  A reminder of what it means to love someone: a commitment of my will to their best interests and their needs despite the sacrifice and cost.