Contributed by Darren Lim • Jun 3, 2025
We are in an odd paradox post COVID, where the world has somewhat shrunk due to increasing virtual engagements but we find ourselves distant and detached. We are acutely aware of the pain and suffering in the world but also less intune with the needs and the reality around us. We care about the on-going Ukraine-Russia war, the conflicts in the Middle East and the oppression crisis of stateless refugees. We care, are concerned and participate in doing our part to alleviate world crises but restricting involvement to what we see online. Not wanting to engage in close proximity less it infringes on our sense of personal boundaries.
I was reminded this week of a certain lady who is seen frequently roaming our neighbourhood. She appears homeless, rambles unintelligently to herself and is sometimes seen pushing a rattling trolley, filled with a hodgepodge of odds and ends – half used bottles, household parts and things that looked rescued from another life. I find myself walking to the other side of the street whenever she walks in my direction, much like the Pharisee who walked to the other side of the street in the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-32. I unconsciously hold my breath when she walks past my car while waiting at the traffic light.
There was one time when I double parked and was on my way to the mall to grab coffee to go. That same lady stopped some 20 paces from me, turned around, wagged her finger at me and barked out a string of syllables I couldn’t quite catch. It raised all the hairs on my back. My mind raced immediately to my family’s safety waiting in the car as she stood midway between me and our car. I was contemplating between fighting for my family’s safety and running for my life. Fortunately, I recalled that they locked the doors when I stepped out of the car. So I ignored her and calmly entered the mall. I was relieved to find her nowhere to be seen upon my return to the car. The most recent encounter was while having lunch at a neighbourhood burger joint. She was seen loitering in the vicinity and visibly eyeing the Grab takeaway rack placed just within the encased glass windows of the establishment. Whether it was moved inside due to the worry of theft or for some other reason, one would never know. But for now, all she could do was longingly gaze at the rack of freshly made burgers. Able to see but not quite able to savour them.
She walked by a second time and stopped to look again. I felt compelled to purchase one for her but found myself stopping short. I was in a dilemma – afraid and uncertain with thoughts racing through my mind. What if she took my act of kindness as an insult and attacked me? What if she had some serious disease that I may contract upon close contact? I felt a small voice inside me whispering that there were always ways to discreetly show kindness. I could leave it on the bench outside with none the wiser. Instead, against the initial compulsion, I did nothing and chose to refrain. She never came back a third time. A pang of regret gnawed at me that I promptly shoved aside.
I do not know what she has gone or is going through but I now know that God’s grace is always there for her. I can always act with love and show kindness in simple ways. I have resolved to free myself from any preconceived stereotypes and bias against her. My prejudiced expectation of foul-smelling sour scent may be grossly unfounded. Despite her disheveled appearance, jarring fashion sense and overdrawn lipstick, she appeared washed and freshly clothed. I pray that no matter what is going on in her life, God will make His love and grace known to her through His people, myself included.