Would you like a sandwich?

Who would have thought that those words could evoke so much emotion. We realised during our recent outreaches that there are many hungry people walking around in this city and decided as a New Year Resolution to never leave home without some sandwiches.  This week, one moment I was overcome with joy and a heart just wanting to burst; and then hours later, there was pure heartbreak.   Eddie took 2 sandwiches, and explained that he had been provided with a courtesy clothes wash and needed laundry detergent to wash clothes for him and his 7 and 9 year old daughters. It felt so good to be able to meet this need for laundry detergent and then hours later, I cried my eyes out at  the desperation of a father having to stand outside CVS and ask for something so basic.
Then there was “Brother Bruce” - he only took the sandwich on the condition that I would let him pray for me. So we sat side by side and he thanked God for His grace, His presence, for reminding him that he was not forgotten and asked that God bless me like I had blessed him.  I offered to bring him some warm clothes and he said “I do not know where I will be, so promise me that you will give those clothes to another person who really needs them”.   Really Brother Bruce, in this time of need you would still be putting me and others before you?
Oh and Toonique - he preferred a donut to a sandwich.  What a blessing for me to be able to walk to a cart with him and buy him a coffee and donut.  Then, he left me speechless - “Yesterday, I stood here all day and the weather was brutal and no one stopped or even acknowledged me; it was tough”.   And just like that, my heart was crushed.
Where I live, the routes I take, the subways I use have not changed,  but my whole world has changed by asking,  “Would you like a sandwich?”

By Bindia Malhotra