It is a little after 2 am Pacific Daylight Time as I write this morning. I often write my journal in the middle of the night. Over the years, I have developed the habit of sleeping for several hours, waking and getting up to write and perhaps also read, then going back to bed for a few more hours. I wake rested and I very rarely have times when I am lying in bed but not sleeping. I suspect that I’m a bit unusual in my pattern, but it works for me.

Right now it is 58 degrees Fahrenheit outside and it is foggy here in Mount Vernon. The forecast is for it to get down to 55 degrees, with less than 2% chance of rain. By mid-morning it will be in the high sixties and it could be as warm as the high seventies by the afternoon. The weather around here is generally very mild, with temperatures ranging from the high forties to the mid-seventies year around.

That means, among other things, that it isn’t too difficult to survive outside in this weather. A warm blanket would help and it would be even more helpful to have a waterproof tent or tarp, but shelter isn’t the biggest problem for those who are forced to live outside. It is a big difference between where we now live and where we have lived most of our lives. Back in the Black Hills, the weather is beautiful this time of year, but winters nights get so cold that those forced to live outdoors face life-threatening conditions if they do not possess a very warm sleeping bag.

Like other cities, there are plenty of places where a person can go to find shelter from rain. There are places under bridges, shelters in parks, shop doorways, protected areas under trees in parking lots and other places around town. People who have no homes find places to go at night that aren’t too far from places where they can get food. There are several places in town where we see homeless persons every day. The library is a major provider of services to homeless persons, providing access to computers for job searches and other research, clean public restrooms, and a comfortable reading room with lots of different books. The library, however, is still operating on a limited schedule due to the pandemic.

The parking lot of a cluster of stores that includes a grocery store, several fast food outlets, a gas station and a variety of other shops is a place where I see homeless people every day. There is also a stretch of the path along the river where we often see people who we assume are homeless. There is little of what one might call panhandling, or simply asking for money, along the river, but the folks in the parking lot will often have a sign, made of cardboard with words in black marker, soliciting donations.

I have never experienced homelessness, so I don’t know all of the supplies and skills it takes to survive out on the streets, but I might not have thought that having a working marker was an important part of the process. I’m sure there is plenty of cardboard that can be obtained from around the stores. The most common thing I read on the signs is “Anything helps. God bless.” Of course, I know that not anything is actually helpful. Offering a puppy or an oil filter for a lawn tractor, or a couple of pool noodles isn’t likely to help. A gift card for amazon.com, a cable for charging a cell phone, or a toothbrush might have some value, but it isn’t what the person holding the sign has in mind. I know that the meaning of the sign is that any amount of money, no matter how small, can contribute to providing needed support.

The bible has several stories about people who have gathered in public spaces to ask for financial support. The temple at Jerusalem, with its public court that admitted all people who came, was a place where there was nearly always a few people who would sit and beg for whatever coins might be available. The temple often provided food for those who had no other sources of food and they would congregate and ask others who had come to the temple for money or other needed items. In several places the bible speaks of giving tithes and alms. Tithes are gifts of gratitude offered to the places of institutional religion. The custom was a gift of 10% of all income, returned to God in gratitude for the blessing fo the income. In the bible this gift is not identified as the offering. The offering is a gift given for the support of the poor. Technically it is given over and above the 10% gift. This is sometimes called alms. Gifts to the poor are considered to be the repayment of the the generosity of God. All that we have is a gift from God and therefore not a permanent possession but a loan. It is our responsibility to repay God by giving to those who are less fortunate than we are.

That strange feeling that I have when walking by someone who is asking for a donation when I know I have some extra money is a feeling that faithful people have wrestled with for millennia. Trying to decide how to respond is one of the responsibilities of being human.

Of course not every gift is truly helpful. For a person struggling with addictions, a gift of money can sometimes enable continuing addiction. Some people need food or clothing more than they need cash money. Some people need information about safe places to go, sources of food, and access to social services. I often assume that the people I meet who are homeless are street smart and know more about living on the street than I, so I forget that some of them are recently homeless and afraid and uncertain about how to survive.

Whatever my response, I go home to a comfortable and safe place every night. I have a bed with warm blankets and a roof that doesn’t leak. There is a furnace in my home to keep it comfortable. It isn’t difficult to see how blessed I am and how much privilege I enjoy.

The luxury of being able to choose how much to give and when to give is not afforded to all of the people in our community. I hope I continue to exercise that luxury faithfully. I hope I continue to give gratefully.