Giving someone the shirt off your back
Such a famous quote. However, yesterday I witnessed the literal meaning of this quote.
Feeding the boys and spending a little time with them is the highlight of my days right now. I never know what will happen while we are hanging out. I never know what will be said. But I know there will always be laughs.
The majority of our ten kids spend their time during the day working on the street parking cars and washing them while the car owner shops. They try to make a little money to buy juice & snacks or to be able to use the public bathroom.
As we drove up to the boys yesterday four of them were hard at work washing a car. I could see the suds all over the car. The water droplets were splattered everywhere. I could tell they had been washing for quite some time and would be finished soon. I was just standing around making small talk with them while they continued working when I saw one of the older boys go over and literally take the shirt off of one of the younger boys back. At first glance I thought the older boy was being a bully or trying to start a fight. But then I realized the younger boy willingly gave his shirt up. He gladly let the boy take his shirt off.
I continued just watching and saw the older boy begin to use the shirt as his drying cloth for the car. He used the shirt to wipe the whole car down until it was dry & completely rid of the splattered water droplets.
I was laughing lots by this point. We had gone from what I thought would be a fight over a shirt to a very comical, yet thought-provoking situation.
These boys aren’t always perfectly behaved. Sometimes they fight with each other. Sometimes they say dirty things. Sometimes they sniff glue to get high.
But they are there for each other.
They are willing to give each other the shirt off of their own back. Even if just to dry a car to make a few pesos.
I wonder how many of us would let someone use our shirt to dry a car!