Walk On

Yet again, I found myself being taught what it means to be both grateful and giving by one of the gentlemen who visit the day shelter for homeless men where I work. Recently, this particular gentleman was in need of a new pair of shoes to replace his current ones that were too small for him. Like most of our gentlemen, he had grown accustomed to making do with what little he had, but his ill-fitting shoes had left him limping. When your feet are your only mode of transportation, proper footwear is essential, and as luck would have it, a recent donation of gently used athletic shoes saved the day and his feet.
As he took off his old shoes and slid his feet into the new ones, his eyes shone brightly, a huge grin spread out over his face, and he exclaimed, “These fit perfectly!” I was happy and relieved that he found the right pair of shoes, but what he did next made me feel even happier.  When he turned to leave, this gentleman handed me his old pair of shoes. I tried to persuade him to keep them, but he insisted and said, “You all have done so much for me, and I want to give these to someone else who can use them. You keep them.” I thanked him and gratefully accepted his donation. At first blush, my initial attempts to persuade him to keep his old shoes may seem ill-advised or that his donation was anything less than gracious. After all, it was just a pair of used shoes, right?
Yes, they were a pair of used shoes, but when you have nothing, or very little, to call your own, even an old pair of shoes can become a valuable commodity on the streets. The most random or seemingly useless item to most people can be sold for a bit of change or traded for a more useful or coveted item. He could have used those shoes to help himself, but instead, he wanted to give them to the next gentleman who came in looking for just the right pair of shoes for his own well-traveled feet. This man understood the value of both the footwear and giving back to others, and I am humbled by the example he set.
Just one thing each day . . .