Open Eyes

In the early 1980’s I was the financial officer for a local construction equipment manufacturer. We opened a dealership in Mexico City, and I traveled there on a few occasions. Our Mexican dealer was well-educated and well-connected, particularly with the telephone and the electric power companies that served Mexico City. Those connections were central to our decision to open there.

One day, as we motored to the downtown offices of the head of the electric company, we passed several bare lots that were vacant except for cardboard “structures”. We learned that each was home to at least one family, probably more.

We arrived at the power company and after a short wait were ushered into a very large, expensively decorated office. Bigger, by far, than my living room at home. El Presidente was clearly very much in command, and his staff of lackeys acted as if in they were in the presence of a deity. My unease began to grow.

As we walked out to the car, we passed a large pile of garbage. Right on the sidewalk. An old toothless woman was digging through the garbage with her bare hands, looking for her next meal. I remember thinking “Today I have seen the face of abject poverty."

That experience would not completely leave me. And neither would other things that I saw during my travels there. I asked myself “Why did it take such dramatic examples to get my attention?” I realized that I didn’t have to go to Mexico City to meet hurting and hunger.

Many years later, I visited my parents at their winter travel trailer park in Weslaco, Texas, just north across the border from Rio Bravo. They had good friends they saw every winter, two of whom were Howard and Dorothy. Howard was tall, fit retired law enforcement agent. About every-other morning, Howard left early and returned late in the afternoon. My curiosity finally questioned him . “ I have to feed my kids,” he said. Turns out Howard helped start a free lunch program for children in Rio Bravo. When I returned home, I thought about Howard’s quiet unassuming passion for those people. I sent a check and a note….not much…..and I got a note back. “I thank you and my children thank you…..that will feed a lot of hungry bellies.” I felt pretty small. All I had done was send a few dollars, while Howard poured his life into caring for “the least of these”.

My Mexico experiences helped open my eyes to the plight of people. Sadly, I confess they haven’t been wide-open enough. None of us can do it all, and most of us confess and regret that. But, I do know that it doesn’t always take a lot to make a difference, and that together we truly can accomplish much.

Scripture paraphrased: “Come…..take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you. I was hungry and you gave me food. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was sick and you visited me.” “When, Lord?” And the King will answer, “I tell you truly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” Matthew 25

Prayer: Oh God, open our eyes to the hurts and hungers of the world around us. Then, open our hearts as well. But help us not to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. Remind us that small steps, when taken together with each other and with You, can lead us far.

Dave Rybolt

Walking the Road