Cardboard Signs

She was there again this morning...the nameless woman with the cardboard sign. She plants herself at the busy intersection and holds up her sign, telling those of us stopped at the light that she is hungry and needs money. Since moving to Houston I have encountered several of these signs. One day it might be a veteran needing work, another day it will be a pregnant woman with four hungry children that need help with food and rent. What should our personal response be to these people?

I don't have an answer. I do, however, have a tender heart. It is painful for me to see people beg. One time Bill and I were leaving Wal Mart when an old man appeared with his well-worn sign. The sign indicated that he was hungry, so I pleaded with my husband to stop. We invited the man to eat lunch with us. It became increasingly evident that this man was not "playing with a full deck". As we sat there in Subway and tried to engage in meaningful conversation, he prattled on about the spirits that lived in the woods. He barely touched his meal and never said "thanks". It was confusing to me. I wanted to help; I wanted to take him home, let him take a long shower, I wanted him to feel clean, I wanted to replace his tattered clothes. I feel somehow that I failed this man.

But another observation I have made is that I see the same beggars all over Houston. I drive a lot for my job and throughout my day I often see that "Mary", who was on the west side of Houston on Monday, mysteriously shows up thirty-five miles to the east on Tuesday. Are these professional beggars? I have no idea. My point on this blog is not to condemn, but merely state that I'm still trying to figure out how to handle these street people.

A friend recently sent me an interesting You Tube video depicting another kind of cardboard sign. These people in the video are also nameless, holding merely their cardboard sign. Their signs, however, convey a message of hope.