A Neighborhood Kid Asked Me For Food

(This is a real story I got in an e-mail) A Neighborhood Kid Asked Me For Food The kabobs were done, and I called the kids in for dinner. As they each came running to the house, suddenly I heard these words: “Hey can I have some of your food? I’m really hungry.” I looked up a bit surprised. A young boy who had recently started playing with our sons was looking at me from across the fence. My first thought was that he was just messing around, so I sort of brushed him off and said, “Hey, what if we do hamburgers one night next week and you can come eat with us?” “Oh, ok…”, he said and rejoined the small circle of other boys riding their bikes in the alley behind our house. We don’t live in any kind of upscale neighborhood, but it’s also not in the poorest area either. Pretty average I guess, but not somewhere I expected to have that kind of conversation. As we began eating, I couldn’t shake the idea that maybe the kid wasn’t messing around…maybe he really did need some food. I asked my wife what she thought, and of course she said by all means let’s feed him, so I went back outside to get the whole story… “Hey Benjamin, you told me you were hungry…are you not going home to eat dinner with your family?” I asked. “Nope, I actually haven’t eaten anything all day.” “What? Why?” “Well, my parents are at work, my brother just stays in his room, and we don’t really have any food in the house that’s easy to fix…so I just didn’t eat anything. We hardly ever eat together anyway.” To be honest, this was a conversation I’d never envisioned having with a child who lived in my own neighborhood, but he told me his story as if this was just the way his life had always been. “Ok, Benjamin, why don’t you come on over, and I’ll fix you a plate…we’ve got plenty of food.” “Really?! Alright!” He leapt the fence, bounded up the steps, and plopped down with our older sons at the back porch table as if he’d eaten there a hundred times. I’m the most imperfect person I know…I screw up all the time, and fall flat on my face over and over when it comes to living, husbanding, and parenting well. One particular area I’m working on is picking up on the little hints my wife, kids, or other people drop when they have a need. The whispered cries for help. I’m not sure what Benjamin’s whole story is…or that I’ll ever know. What I do want to ensure is that there’s always room for the Benjamins of life at our table. (Whether they need food, a safe place, or just a listening ear.) In the simplest way possible, this post is just about keeping our ear to the ground so we don’t miss what’s happening around us. Often we’ll avoid taking a risk of helping someone simply because we’re not sure their entire story is legit. Fair enough. But we must remember that while they’re responsible for how they live, so are we. Generosity is never wasted. There are Benjamins all around us all the time…let’s make sure we always invite them to pull up a chair.