Water for Weary Souls

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in" ~Matthew 25:35

This morning I was in the back yard of the clinic, writing in my journal and enjoying the brisk morning before the start of a new shift. As I was relaxing and thinking, the dogs next door started barking, announcing the arrival of 'intruders' in the back alley; and soon after, two middle aged women came into view, huffing and puffing. As they caught sight of me, one of the women came towards the fence, waving to catch my attention. She called out to me, asking if she could have a bottle of water. As God would have it, I had just gotten a bottle of water from a friend the night before, and was able to pass that on to this young woman. She went on her way with a whoop and a holler, running to catch up with her friend while at the same time yelling out what had happened to her. Though I wasn't too sure about her over-enthusiasm, I was clad that I could be a blessing to her.

But, just a couple of minutes later, I saw this same woman shooting up in the alley behind the clinic. In that moment, I doubted whether I should have shared the water with her, if my gift had meant anything at all to her, if she had just been seeing if she could take advantage of me in some way. So quickly did my attitude change from open and giving to closed and suspicious, all based on the fact that now I knew about her drug addiction (which should have instead alerted me to the fact that here was another person in need of love). 

This made me think. My first reaction was that I had done something wrong in giving the water. But then I realized that, in reality, God doesn't say much about the recipient's use of what we give them, He seems to focus more on our attitude of generosity, that we take joy in giving to others what He has shared with us, that we overflow with the love that He has given us. My responsibility is not to control how others use what I can give; my responsibility is to live with open hands, remembering that all I have is a result of God's generosity towards me.