The cold wind blew right through our coats on a late winter day in Washington, DC. The youth volunteers with Teens Opposing Poverty were handing out clothes at LaFayette Square. The White House stood right in front of us. We had just packed away the few remaining articles of clothing. I think all of us were looking forward to getting somewhere warm.
As we started to get into our van, a small, slightly-built man came up to us. He had no coat, only a windbreaker over his shirt. Although he knew what the answer would be, he asked us if we had any coats or sweaters. I saw the dejected looks on the faces of the youth when we had to tell him we didn’t have any left. My heart sank for him and for the teens. They felt the sting of not being able to help somebody with a great and obvious need.
Then one of the girls pulled her arms inside her sweater and started squirming around like she was being bitten by ants, only she wasn’t in any distress. After about 30 seconds, she took off a thermal undershirt she was wearing and handed it to the guy. He was speechless. Without a word, he took the shirt and put it on. Then he looked at her and said, “Nobody has ever done anything like that for me before. I’ll never forget this.”
We chatted for a little while, then there was a flurry of hugs and handshakes before he turned and walked away with a spring in his step. We had just witnessed what John the Baptist said in Luke 3:11. “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none….” and I was blessed to see lives changed because of it.
