Be Present, Be You

Trinity United Methodist Church's Podcast

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Youth Sunday

Imagine a group of middle schoolers walking around Civic Park, carrying granola bars, water, and crackers to hand out to people who spend their days there. Claire, Roxy Freeman, Olivia Hill, and I were those middle schoolers, and we were in the midst of enjoying our first Denver Dive. While walking around, we spotted a fountain to rest and put our feet into so we could cool off from the extraordinary heat. Before we could even take off our shoes, we saw a man and woman who appeared to be homeless, dancing in the fountain. They saw us, four confused-looking middle schoolers, and approached. It turns out that the woman was a cancer survivor, and because of all of the medical bills, she and her husband no longer had a place to live. But they didn’t seem to be worried—they even seemed confident that everything would work out in the end. They chose to enjoy life despite their situation. Their energy inspired the four of us and our three leaders. Soon we were all dancing care-free in the fountain together. It’s times like these when I think of how the smallest of gestures can help change someone’s entire perspective. Even though we barely knew these people, they completely changed our outlook on homelessness as wide-eyed sixth graders, and now we think of the awesome things God gives us: great people who will dance in fountains with us, our health, and even just our day-to-day lives. We have the opportunity to make the best out of God’s greatest gift: life.

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