The Shirt of Many Sparkles
By Jeff Jordan
Saturday:
It was Saturday afternoon and I had arrived at a point in my life where I felt strongly convicted that I needed a wardrobe update. Now I couldn’t go to just any mall of course. I had to go somewhere that made a statement, so naturally I went to the Lab. Finding a couple of vintage, (that’s hipster for used) shirts at the Buffalo Exchange I then headed over to Urban Outfitters. Realizing everything there was more money then I wanted to spend I was about to leave when there, tucked quietly away, hidden in the back corner, I spotted the clearance section.
Voila, I thought, and headed over to take a look. That’s when I saw it, a western style shirt marked $19.99. Awesome I’ll take it, I thought, only there was one catch. I thought I glimpsed something sparkly. I held it up to the light to make sure. Dang it, sparkly silver lines ran through it like veins in a mine. It was, to say the least, a bit effeminate. For several agonizingly long minutes I debated on whether or not I could pull off a shirt that drew such obvious question to my manhood. What the heck, I thought, it’s only $19.99 and worse comes to worse, I can return it.
Sunday:
A friend invited me to serve with the Burrito Project after church. I had always been curious about it and I wanted to serve more so I went out. Now I have worked with the homeless in the past and I was pretty sure I knew what to expect, however this time things went a little differently. It started when we met June.
June had lost her house and most of her possessions a year ago and had been on the street ever since. She says she doesn’t use drugs or alcohol and is working to get her life back together. She has applied to several homeless shelters and half way houses and is hoping to get accepted to one soon.
June is smart, she knows what the homeless need and as we talked she told us a little bit about their situation. One thing she said was that her and her husband could really use two light weight sleeping bags. She then added, to my surprise, that their biggest daily need is good drinking water. She told us that the fountain in the park was dirty and didn’t work well and that their only other options were to go to a fast food place or fill up bottles in the bathroom, and while this didn’t seem horrible, the fact she mentioned it left an impression on me. I had always assumed water was available, not to mention, as an official germ-a-phobe, the idea of filling your water bottle in the bathroom sink really grossed me out. We gave her food and water and told her we would pray for her, and then we left. But as we walked away, something struck me. The fact that two people in Fullerton were sleeping outside on the ground in a park while I was resting comfortably in my bed did not sit well with me.
On the way home from serving I stopped at Target to pick up a few items. While there it dawned on me that I should check the price of sleeping bags. After wondering around a few minutes I finally found the aisle they were on. I looked at the price tags, one read, “Special Sale, Sleeping Bags $14.99” and another “Sale: Sleeping bags $16.99.”
Immediately I was convicted. For $14.99, five dollars less than the crappy sparkling shirt from Urban Outfitters that I didn’t even really want, I could supply one of the sleeping bags for June. I slowly turned and walked sheepishly down the aisle, away from the convicting merchandise.
I went to the grocery section to shop a bit. The Holy Spirit must have been shopping there as well because unfortunately I passed the aisle with bottled water on it. Another sign: Sale, 24 bottles of Target water, $2.50. More conviction, not only would the $20 dollars buy a sleeping bag, but the remaining $5 dollars would buy 48 bottles of water, meeting both of June’s needs. I bought some water to donate to the Burrito Project and went home.
As I got home my conviction grew. I began thinking of other things I could have bought to help people with the money I had spent. As I looked around the house, I imagined myself feeling a bit like Oskar Schindler did at the end of the movie Schindler’s list, when he starts noting all the valuables he could have sold to raise more money to save more Jewish lives from the Holocaust.
It got me thinking and I started this list of things I have bought recently but didn’t need:
• The two used Xbox games I bought three months ago but haven’t touched since – 10$ or 96 bottles of water.
• Rock Band – Okay I can justify this one. Rock Band is great for community groups and Bible studies and it was on sale for 60$ however….
• The additional Rock Band downloads I did not need 25$, or one and a half sleeping bags.
• The next set of Rock Band downloads I still did not need, another 25$ totaling 50$ on downloads, or three new sleeping bags.
• Wilco’s new CD – I can justify this one too, they are my favorite band, however…
• The Wilco shirt I bought online $25, or a pair of shoes for the four year old girl we met who had none for school.
• The Lucky Strike bowling package I got suckered into by a girl from our office: $30 or several days worth of sanitary supplies.
I know, I can see it now, this is beginning to sound like a Master Card commercial. You know the one.
Price of 80 Tortillas: 30$
Price of 18 pounds of beans for burritos: 15$
Helping the homeless while gaining an eternal reward in heaven: Priceless
I am learning to see things in a different light, to see things with a new pair of eyes. It’s about more than just giving to the poor, I have always supported that. It’s more of a mindset change. It’s learning to realize that which is frivolous and how to put it to a better use.
For the record, I took back the sparkly shirt and vowed to use the money for good. I don’t exactly know what yet, but something better than myself. Something that is a blessing to others, that God wants me to do; something that will spread the love of Jesus, advance the name of Christ and, even if just for a little while, make some bodies life a little more bearable.
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