"the sun is God's blanket for the poor"

i really didn't think that much about this story, until i told my sister and she said it needed to be shared.  even then, it wasn't until i laid down tonight, warm inside my heated home, that i really thought about Evia.

i met Evia today randomly. i was engulfed in my work, which meant that i couldn't hear my co-workers screaming at me through my headphones to get the phone. they said it was someone speaking Spanish and i told them to take it.  they pointed it back to me.

as i took the call, i realized that this call was like many others we receive. it was someone that needed help with her home but she lives in el paso and there's not much help we can offer her. she said she lives in a trailer and doesn't have a heater. i had gloves, a scarf and a hat on all day inside our office. it was freezing today. my heart went out to her.

the social work side of me kicked in and i started wondering what i could do to help. i asked where she lives and racked my brain for resources in her area. not knowing much, i suggested a church nearby. part of me felt like i was just blowing her off, because i wondered what help they could give. i'm sure they get similar calls to this all the time.

the whole time she was talking, she kept saying she didn't have a heater. as we spoke, i just kept staring at the one sitting next to my feet. i heard a sermon one time that has never left my mind. it said, "don't pray for someone to have food if you have enough of your own. give them some of yours." as i stared at this heater by my feet, all i could think of was her tonight with no heat, and this one just sitting here in my office.

i gave her the number for the church and that eased my mind enough to feel like i had helped. we ended our spanglish conversation that i was already struggling through and i tried to go about my day. yet the heater sat there still.

i wrestled through a million thoughts in my mind.

what was i supposed to do?
drive to her house and give it to her?
go meet this random woman at walmart and buy her a heater?
what was my role? what was "too much?"

after getting off the phone and explaining to my coworkers my struggle, they reminded me that her number could be retrieved off of the caller id. at that, i called Evia back and asked her where she was currently. surprisingly, rather than across town where she lives, she was on the same road as our office. in fact, she was two blocks away. i asked her if she knew where our office was and could come by. at that, i grabbed the heater, a couple hats and some gloves from a box of donations that had arrived that day, and an electric blanket from the ones we give to each family we build for.

then i went and met this woman who's life had "randomly" crossed mine. we talked about our lives and our faith. we prayed together. and as i loaded the heater, gloves, hat and blanket into her car, i reiterated to her how much God seemed to be doing to provide for her needs tonight. to me it seemed obvious, and random, and crazy. the fact that Evia called our office. the fact that i speak enough spanish that i'm the one that took her call (i've spent the past 5 years raising money to provide heaters and blankets for families in México). even the fact that my heater stared back at me that day because i had just gone and grabbed it an hour before, only to blow a breaker and let it sit there.

i had a friend in México tell me one time,
"the sun is God's blanket for the poor."

this paints a picture to me, of how we are reliant on God to provide for us when we don't have the means on our own.

i lay here tonight grateful that Evia is in her trailer with some form of heat. i'm overwhelmed and in awe of how God would orchestrate this day to allow me to be a part of her story. and i'm thankful for a loving father that is providing heat for both of us and keeping us warm on this cold night.