Stories of the Bag...

from St. Anne's, Stockton 

with gratitude from Renee Jacobs

I took one of the yellow bags that were designed to hand out to the needy people on the streets of Stockton. I had it for a couple of weeks, and while I saw some needy people, it was either unsafe to stop, or to be honest, it may have been an inconvenience to me.

A short while ago I was at one of the shopping centers, and as I came out of the store a man approached me in the parking lot. He was dirty and disheveled, and was not pushing a cart or anything I could see. He put his hands together under his chin, in a pleading manner, and attempted to smile - poor thing had no teeth and it was a very sad, but earnest plea. My first instinct was to distance myself from him, and I got in my car and started to leave. As I was driving away the thought of the bag came to mind, and I turned around and came to a stop. I got out of the car and retrieved the bag from the back of my car. I walked over to him and handed him the bag; he looked inside and the sweetest smile cross his face. He again placed his folded hands under his chin and mouthed "Thank You" to me.

As I was leaving, I thanked God for bringing that bag to mind, and then I thanked St. Anne's for making those bags available to myself and others. It brought to mind how blessed I truly am, and how grateful I am to be in a place where the needy are thought more of than mere annoyances. Thanks to all who made it possible for me to learn the lesson of giving, and to encourage me to be grateful for all that God has graced me with.

and the lesson grows from Leslie Sanchez

When we began collecting our supplies for the bags, Leslie got her place of work involved. She put a container in the beauty shop so that coworkers and customers could bring in supplies to go in the bags. She had a yellow bag with the tub so people could see what we were doing. A couple of the high school age children of coworkers wanted to help us 'stuff the bags' at St. Anne's, but were unable to make it the evening the Confirmation Class was preparing the bags. The idea stuck with one of the students from Bear Creek High School. He asked Leslie if it would be alright for him to put a bin at his high school so that they could collect supplies for bags. Of course, she told him yes.

He got permission from the school to put out the bin and to spread the word about what St. Anne's was doing. Turns out they went even further. The high school group not only collected supplies, they created their own bags and have been handing them out to those in need. How awesome is that!

a story of the bag from Kimberly Watts-Willis as told to those gathered for Maundy Thursday (any errors in this retelling are the fault of the editor)

I had taken a bag and placed it in my car. I added a couple items to the bag which I thought would be helpful. Usually I encounter people with signs for help standing in the median or at the side of the road at stop signs and lights, but for some reason I had gone for a few weeks without encountering one. The bag continued to 'roll' around in the back of my minivan, and I was considering just taking it out.

On my way to work I pulled up to a stop sign, and there was a man in the middle of the traffic lane with a sign which said "Help". This was unusual and I was trying to decide whether to just go around him (into an oncoming traffic lane) or go a different route. Other cars were pulling up behind me. He just stood in the middle of the road looking very dejected. I remembered the bag in the back of the car, but was weighing the annoyance of the drivers behind me with the moments it would take to get the bag and give it to the man. Figuring, what the heck, I got out of the car, went back and got the bag, and took it to the man. I told him that I hoped there might be something in it that he could use. He didn't say anything and wouldn't take the bag from me.

Knowing that I needed to get back in the car and move out of the way, I placed the bag at his feet. He still didn't pick it up. I got back in and pulled around the man who was standing in the street with a bright yellow bag at his feet. When I'd gone a block and was at the next stop sign, I looked back in my rear view mirror. The man and the bag were gone. I hope that there was something in that bag that he needed.