First Baptist Church of Herndon

Caution

Linda Soller | Nov 08, 2021

The man I see each morning across the intersection on the median with a sign asking for help has taken to wearing one of those bright yellow/green glows in the dark safety vests. It screams cautionto all who see it. Actually, I think it was a wise decision because he is pretty exposed to traffic and drivers whose minds are on getting through the intersection before the light changes. It would be easy for them not to see him sitting there on his bucket, large cardboard sign in hand. Then again maybe the message of caution he sends reaches beyond a single struggling human being. 

What if the message is caution, poverty may seem to impact one or a few, but the problems they face are faced by many? What if we are being reminded that our token handouts to one person are good, but they are not really addressing the bigger issue? They are a band aid on a serious infectious wound. Maybe the caution is that we can’t become complacent and think there are only a few such people because that is all we routinely see around us. What if every man woman and child who lives in poverty wore a yellow/green vest for a day? I fear we would be horror struck by the glow of so much yellow/green.  

Maybe the caution message this man sends is one for us to share. Maybe we need to consider what we are doing to fight poverty at its core. I don’t know if this solitary man intended to send a warning to our society, and I doubt it occurred to him that people would think of it as anything more than a safety precaution. If that is the case, then he was wrong. His single action spoke to me, and I can’t believe it was lost on all the others who pass by him. And how could he know that I would share his message of caution with you, so you too can take it to heart.

Be the difference in the world! :o)