Today was the Best Day Ever at TLPTC! We received an amazing gift today! A car load of food from someone who has become a great friend to TLPTC. She sent green beans, corn, fruit - all the things that are so important to keeping this place up and running. She doesn't want a big fuss - she doesn't want a lot of attention - she just wants to do something good for others. We hope she knows what a difference she is making in the world and we hope she knows how amazing we think she is.
If you know TLPTC, then you know we are not a big place - but we have big aspirations. We don't have it all figured out - but there are some things we do really, really well. We hear every day how much of a blessing this place is to our shoppers. We had this super sweet family come in today - mom, dad, two boys about 10 and 12. The mom was so happy to let her boys help her choose things from the shelf. Think about it - to her this was a luxury - she wouldn't have to tell them no because they chose something she couldn't afford. Several of us just watched them shop - it was awesome. The volunteer would ask if they wanted a certain thing - the boys would look at the mom and she would say Yes and she would just look away and smile. They had fun – it was lighthearted. She didn’t have to calculate – she didn’t have to disappoint. You could see that maybe for once in a long time, a weight was lifted off of her. Today she got a lot more than food.
It has been a rough week. Found myself defending what we do several times. This is very hard for me – it’s hard for me to imagine that anyone on the planet could be against this. And, it hurts me to the core when people, generally good people, insist on talking about policies and statistics and forget that we are talking about real people.
A lot of people think that everyone should be able to find a job. Everyone should be able to find housing. Everyone should be able to provide for themselves and their families without assistance. And, I believe they should too. But I know that is not reality. I could spend two days telling the people who love to debate this about how something has turned a person’s life on its ear – a medical bill, a loss of a spouse, a loss of a job, a flood.
But I won’t – because why does it matter? If you figure out why a person is in this spot, okay – then what? So, maybe they did something wrong or maybe they did everything right – that doesn’t change the fact that you still have a real person standing in front of you who doesn’t know where else to turn. A real person who doesn’t deserve animosity from someone who doesn’t even know them. A real person – maybe a mom who won’t worry so much tonight about all the things she’s done right and all the things she’s done wrong – she will just be remembering the very cool moment she had with her sons today.