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It was a bitterly cold winter night. I didn’t care. I’d had a really discouraging day and wanted to go for a long drive.

This was December of 2020, the first year of the Coronavirus in the United States.

When I stopped at a streetlight, I saw a young man sitting on the corner. He didn’t have a sign seeking help. He just sat there.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, rolling down my window. “If I get you something, will you eat it?”

I had stopped on what was usually a busy thoroughfare, but it was late and there was no traffic. I waited and finally, he nodded.

Minutes later, I returned with hot chili and a sandwich, but he was gone. That’s when I noticed an old man with a homeless sign on a different corner.

Had he been there before? 

I turned into a gas station across from him, opened my car door, and set the bags on the street corner. Customers pumping fuel eyed me — confused. They hadn’t seen him on the other side of that three-lane boulevard.

But the old man knew what was what. He started across the street, and I quickly closed my door. In truth, it was probably midnight, and I was afraid he might hurt me. 

I drove out the other side of the gas station and went on my way.

I hadn’t planned on doing anything for anyone that night. I was so filled with my own pain. But that awful freezing weather moved me. I knew a person had to be hungry to stand out there.

As I drove away, the darkness inside me lifted — replaced with Light and happiness. I have great memories of being with my mom and feeding people like him.

Don’t misunderstand me. That year, 2020, was terribly hard, and people had nothing to give. Even wealthy people didn’t escape the rampage of the coronavirus. We all knew someone who had been hospitalized or had died.

The struggle in this country continues with a rough economy. So, I’m not suggesting that you add to the burden that you carry. Don’t offer a random act of kindness just to get it done.

Instead, I’m saying this — expect the Holy Spirit.

If you’re afraid, sad, or overwhelmed, know this: God is with you. Expect the Spirit to lead you down a road to a moment in time that you need. 

I wasn’t at the street corner for the old man. I was there for me.

I went for that long drive because I needed to be with God. Scripture says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26, ESV). 

Christmas also comes this year to a divided nation. It’s become an angry age.

What you may not realize is that Jesus was born into an angrier time. The political climate was far worse than what we’ve seen — Herod had lost power and, upon his return, murdered countless people. He was bent on revenge. 

That’s why no one in Jerusalem rejoiced at the birth of the Messiah. True. Here’s the passage.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem . . . behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:1-3, NASB).

Many do not realize that civil war gripped Rome in the first century B.C. Herod allied himself with the losing side, Marc Antony and Cleopatra. In the midst of the turmoil, another nation seized Jerusalem and executed Herod’s brother. 

The Jews in Jerusalem, in their fear, did not realize that God had decided to hand out the best gift a person can have. Jesus. 

It was Christmas!

Returning home that cold night, I spotted the first man. Remember? The one sitting on the corner with no sign?

He had deliberately moved to a place almost completely hidden from traffic. Clearly, he hadn’t wanted my food. What he wanted was to be left alone.

Perhaps he needed what I needed that night—to be with God.

“Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, KJV).

However you celebrate Christmas this year, remember God’s gift to you: Jesus.

You do not face the future alone. Jesus is your comfort and strength.

This is an abridged chapter from “Reaching to God – The Christmas Edition,” soon to be released. The chapter is reprinted with permission. 

The Rev. Mathews (BA, MDiv, JD) is a newspaper faith columnist and the author of the Reaching to God series and the mystery Emerald Coast: The Vendetta.  Contact her at Hello@RAMathews.com. Copyright © 2020, 2024 R.A. Mathews. All rights reserved.