Selflessness

Tonight we went on our last sandwich run before Thanksgiving break; we had 6 people come out and we made 24 bag dinners. It was the first night that it was truly cold out, so it wasn’t surprising that there weren’t a lot of people out to give the bags to. The people we did see were grateful and thanked us with what have become familiar smiles and words.
Within the group of people that came there were a lot of people who had come to Lesley Delivers before, some of them have been nervous on their first few times about going up to people and asking them if they wanted food. Tonight I saw a few who hung back before step up and want to do it. It proves that it is not only the people receiving the food that are receiving something, but the people who give as well.
There were three people in a place that we normally stop that one group gave some dinners to, and then on the way back the other group stopped by. At this point the number had grown to six people laying there so, having extra sandwiches, they offered to the people who just got there and the people who were already there. One of the men who was just settling down was very sweet and shy, but talked to us about what we were doing and how cold it was. When we asked him if he wanted a bag, he made sure that we gave one to everyone else before he took one – even though some people there already had two. There were a few that he referred to by their first names and acted like he was close to them. Sometimes we feel the need to be selfless in the face of difficulty. Sometimes we focus so much on the people we care about that we forget ourselves. We forget our basic needs because to us, our friends and family are all that we really do need.