Hey Mister!

Her voice called to me from under the eave in front of Starbucks. 

"Hey mister!  Got a cigarette?"

It had rained all night and, from the looks of things, the sidewalk had been her bed.  A cigarette?  Are you kidding me?  How about a decent meal, a hot shower, clean clothes, a place to live?  How about wholeness, healing, a life?

She wanted a cigarette.

What you want and what you need are not always the same thing, are they?

Lord, the next time I cry out in want, show me what I need.  And help me to give to others without judging them. Amen.