"Let's Give Him a Blanket!"

Response #1 to a challenge Johanna gave to Mothers of Preschoolers Each family was given a McDonald's gift certificate and challenged to find a way to reach out and serve their community together as a family.

Dear Johanna,

Thank you for speaking at MOPS this morning. You really inspired me to teach my kids more about compassion and giving to those less fortunate. Here is our McDonald’s coupon story (it has some coincidences and surprises)…

After MOPS, I was very excited to tell my five year old son about the McDonald’s coupon, what we were going to do with it, and why. We said a prayer in the car and asked God to show us the person whom he wanted us to help. We didn’t see anyone on the way to school. In the evening, I picked up my son from a playdate at his friend’s house. My son asked if I had seen anyone who needed the coupon during the day. I said “no” and that I was hoping he (my son) would be with me when we found that special person. My son promptly said that we should say another prayer. Not even 10 seconds passed when to our surprise, we saw a homeless gentleman at the stoplight. I rolled down my son’s window and he gave the man the McDonald’s coupon, along with two coupons for a free banana and apple from Albertsons. The man immediately said “Oh food! Thank you. God bless you!” We said “God Bless” and we were off.

On the way home, I told my son how proud I was, and how proud God was, and how proud daddy would be of his caring and wanting to help someone. I explained that the man had nowhere to live and nowhere to eat, so it was very special that we helped him tonight. Immediately, my son replied “if he has nowhere to sleep, I want to give him a big box!” I responded, “we don’t have a big box, honey.” My son replied, “let’s give him a BLANKET!” (Whoa! Can you only imagine what went through my mind at that moment?! Your story of the 11 year old boy today left a strong impression on me.)

We were almost home and it was already dark. My son pleaded in the car, “let’s give him a blanket AND MY NEW PILLOW!!!” (Again, your stories resonated in me.) It was 7:30pm, my younger one needed to get to sleep, and I was torn. BUT, I felt this was too much of a coincidence to let go of it. I felt we were called to do this.

We pulled into the garage, my son RAN upstairs to grab his pillow and I quickly grabbed the blanket. We ran back downstairs, hopped into the car and we were off—again.

My son and I said a prayer that we would find the man. The red lights seemed to take forever. Patience… We finally arrived back at the stoplight where we had first seen the man and saw that his backpack was still there. We were so excited! We also noticed that the man was in the adjacent parking lot, which would be a lot easier for us to give him our “gifts.”

When we pulled into the parking lot, the man was speaking to a police officer. We motioned to the officer to come over to our car so that we could ask him a question. We explained that we had brought a pillow and blanket for the gentleman. My son could hardly contain his excitement. The officer stated that the gentleman was panhandling, which is illegal in Costa Mesa, and that we could not give him the items we had brought for him. We asked in several polite ways if the officer would be willing to give the items to the gentleman on our behalf, but the officer said “no.” He also said, “You don’t know if this guy is on drugs. Didn’t you hear about the girl in Los Angeles who got her leg slit trying to help a homeless person? If you really want to help, take your donations to a homeless shelter.” “Where is the closest one, officer?” “Well, that’s the problem, there are none in Costa Mesa.”

Deflated, I didn’t know what to do next. My son did not really hear, nor did he understand the full scope of my discussion with the officer. I was confused about how to explain to my son why the police officer would not allow us to help the gentleman. My son was getting upset that he still had the pillow and blanket in his hand. He begged me louder and louder to speak to the policeman and to go give the pillow and blanket to the gentleman.

I turned around to pull out of the parking lot. I also noticed at that point that the police officer had driven away.

Now bear with me here…

I saw the man, rolled down my window and motioned to him to come to the other corner where we were exiting. By the time he walked over to our corner, the police officer had turned around and was now two cars behind us. So, I told him to meet us at the next corner.

My son was so elated to be helping. I was as nervous as could be because I have never gone against authority. My son sensed my nervousness. I just explained to him that the police officer said we should donate our things to a shelter, but inside, I was very nervous. Could he sense that I was disrespecting authority?

We got to the next corner and pulled into the parking lot. We didn’t see the man anymore. So, I turned around to leave. Just as we were leaving, the man turned the corner. There he was!!! My son was so excited, he was THRILLED!!! So, I hurriedly honked the horn to signal the man and my son gave him the pillow and blanket. The man could not believe that we had brought him a pillow. The man was so happy.

And, just at that moment, the police officer was turning the corner. Thank heavens, he kept driving. Maybe he saw us, maybe he did not. All I know is that he kept driving. Inside, I was anxious to just get home. I quickly rolled up with the window and exclaimed “good night!”

My son was so happy about what had taken place. Then, he asked if I was rushing to get home. I told a white lie to my son. I said, “I am driving home quickly so that we can get your little sister to bed because she is tired.” My son is too smart and replied, “no she is not!” (Actually, it really was past her bedtime.)

The rest of the way home, I explained to my son that the police officer suggested that a better way to help the homeless would be to donate goods to shelters and to assist in feeding them. (This wasn’t a lie. I just tried to avoid the fact that we had disrespected the officer’s wishes. I didn’t think about explaining to my son that we have to help in ways that respect the law. I also didn’t think at that moment to explain to my son that the officer was concerned for our safety. I am embarrassed to admit that I got caught up in the moment, had lost my common sense for a few minutes, and should not have gone to a less occupied parking lot with two young children at night. That said, God looked over us during those few moments in the parking lot.)

Back to the conversation about the officer’s suggestion… My son was extremely intrigued to help feed the homeless. He said he wanted to do it! I was one proud mama (even if I still felt an ulcer from the preceding 10 or 15 minutes)!

Quite an evening it was for us, and certainly unexpected. Now, I just want to do more, in a law-abiding and safe way. Didn’t you mention that there is something at the church on Thursday nights? Could we get more information?

Thank you again, Johanna, for the challenge.

Most Respectfully,
A MOPS Mom