03/30/2026
Yesterday, my husband and I joined with a group from church to hand out food bags.
And each time, a transaction took place.
While we lifted bags into back seats, they deposited chronicles of heartbreak at our feet.
While we passed gift cards through car windows, they whispered tales of broken homes onto our fingertips.
Tears streamed unashamedly on both sides of the door.
And then she showed up.
From the large diesel, a woman looked down at us and waved an age spotted hand, signaling us to stop.
“I want for nothing,” she said. “I have everything I need. Yet, I have something for you.”
An uncertain pause to our outreach hung in the air between us. No one knew what to do. We eyed her suspiciously. Another volunteer timidly reach up a gloved hand and into it the woman released a handful of small, plastic Jesus figurines. We giggled awkwardly and pocketed them.
It wasn’t until the last car of my day , that I remembered the figurine in my pocket. As the car pulled away, my husband handed the driver his Jesus. She hesitated, just a moment, as if deciding what to do with it.
“Don’t you know that you can’t just give your Jesus away.” I teased him as we walked back to our table.
His answer, “I thought that’s what we were doing.”
He’s not wrong.
As we handed over bags of apples, we were giving away Jesus.
As we asked Divine Favor for their situation, we were giving away Jesus.
As we ministered to the weary and heavy laden, we were giving away Jesus.
And you know what else,,
When we offered them Jesus, some eyed us suspiciously.
When we gave them Jesus, they weren’t sure where to put Him.
When we placed Jesus in their hands, they weren’t sure what to do with Him.
And maybe, that’s on us.
Maybe He has sat too long in our pockets for us to feel him, or clutched too long in our gloved hands for us to work with Him.
I never did catch her name. I wonder if she knows just how important her words have become.
The next opportunity to give Jesus away might look different on the surface, but the internal need is the same.
The need for a lifted load.
The need for some gentle joy.
The need for a Savior.
“Come,” Jesus says. “Come.”
He has something for you.