Money and A Dirty Hat..

Here, where I live, the first Friday of every month is Art Walk. It’s this event that takes place downtown where art is celebrated in all forms, dance, music, painting, clothing design, photography, and even hair dressing. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Art Walk with the salon I have been shadowing with. The stylist were selling temporary pink hair extensions and putting them in to help raise money for breast cancer awareness. It was there that I witnessed the most amazing thing.

Just as we were wrapping everything up and tearing our station down, a man rode up on a bike. He stopped right in front of me. He extended his arm and held a dirty hat.  He slurred something about being a homeless veteran and asked if I had any money I could spare. I was frozen.  I didn’t have any money. I never have any money. I’m a full-time student without a job, which job shadows in her free time. Plus, the only thing I had with me was a scissor pouch full of combs. I managed to pull myself together enough to shake my head “no.” I looked around to the rest of the group for someone to help, and I realized that they were all frozen too. They began checking their pockets in vein. None of us had anything with us. The man didn’t take his hat back. He continued to hold it out with an unsteady stance.

A husband and wife team owns the salon I shadow with. At this point the husband walked up calmly and quietly to the man. I couldn’t hear what they were saying much from where I was standing. They shook hands and talked for what seem like about a minute. Everyone else stood there, on edge, waiting to see the result of the conversation. They shook hands again. The veteran smiled, said thank you, and rode away. The female salon owner gathered us all, like a mother hen gathers her chicks, and the tension was broken. I was mildly in shock at first, unsure of what to think, but later that night I felt like I had witnessed a small miracle. What a team, right? A husband and wife working together to make sure all parties involved were taken care of. This man had not received any money, and yet he went away happy. This experience struck me as a perfect example of grace. God doesn’t always give us what we ask for, but He gives us what we need. I am extremely blessed to have these people in my life, and to have an insight to grace in human relationship. It was a romance directed at my heart.

Love, Grace, and Peace,

Audrey