Rites of Passage — Column by Mark Martinez
I’m at McDonald’s right now. I brought my 7-year-old grandson here to eat, but mostly so he can play with whichever kids wound up being here.
As I’m sitting here eating (he’s playing), I notice a man walk in. Probably in his mid-30’s, long unkempt hair and beard, sullen eyes and a hoodie. He took a seat in a back corner table, averting his eyes from anyone and staring out the window. A look I’ve seen many times before.
A while went by, and no food was coming his way. I was confident that he didn’t order any food, probably did not have the money to do so, and simply needed a place to sit for awhile and get out of the cold.
God was tugging on my heart. I know what He wanted me to do.
The funny thing is that I felt less motivated to do what I felt I was supposed to do. Rather, my greater motivation was to not experience the shame and regret of not doing it. There are times throughout my life when I felt God put someone or a situation in front of me to go be of assistance. I sat too long, rationalizing and overthinking. Then it was too late. The moment had passed. The person had left. I would sit there in my own sense of shame and regret that I had failed an opportunity to serve God by serving His people.
I approached the man as he was in his seat and kneeled down across from him to bring our eyes level. I asked if I could ask him a question, to which he said sure.
“Are you hungry?”
He replied, “Yes, I am.”
“What can I get you, anything you want?” He told me and I said I would have the food sent to his table.
I concluded with this: “God sees you. He knows you’re here, and He knows your needs. He’ll take care of you, if you let Him.”
He thanked me, and that was it.
Sitting across the man at the closest table to him, I had spied another couple who happened to be wearing some sort of sweatshirt that had a Christian message or theme on it. After I went away to order the man’s food, this couple stood up and began talking to him. They left and came back a few minutes later with some sort of blanket or sleeping bag in hand. They gave it to him, and I suppose he thanked them. I could not tell. The food came, he ate his meal, and then he left, with the comfort of a warm covering and a satisfied stomach for the night. God’s people had done His work.
I went back to our table, and I told my grandson what just happened. I didn’t do it to brag; I did it to teach. I told him when you feel God tug on your heart to do something, you need to be obedient, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I don’t know if he understood, because he just turned 7. Perhaps one day he’ll get it.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter, it’s my job to do my part to teach and train him. As parents and grandparents, it’s our job to teach them every opportunity we get. We often think of the scripture verse which says that when we give to the needy, do not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing so that our giving may be in secret (Matthew 6:3-4). When it comes to teaching our youth, I think it’s imperative that we tell them what we are doing so that we can teach them to do the same. Telling our children is more about mentoring, while telling other adults could come across as bragging.
The coolest part for me? The man’s name just happened to be the same name as my grandson. Hmmm, coincidence?
