I looked into those brown eyes and I could see joy staring back at me. He handed me his wooden box that could seriously use a new piece of wood on the side and a nail or two. I watched as he pulled rags and different polish out of the box. He set it down in front of me and pointed at the blue paint sitting next to me and the paint brush in my hand. I simply nodded and said, “Si”. I began to paint this box and as I was painting I got the feeling that I was painting over more that worn paint and wood. I was painting over struggles. I was making something new, something clean and bright. I painted over the rusted nails and broken wood until the box looked like new. I handed it back to the boy and he smiled at me and took it over to the Pastor to get the words “Dios es Amor” spray painted in red on the side. God is love.
When we first met these boys in the morning they looked at us with curious eyes. They answered our questions about how long they had been shining shoes, how old they were, things like that. Their answers were surprising. They had been shining shoes on the streets of the city from 1 day-4 years. They ranged in age from 8-16. They all had different styles of shining the shoes, different prices they charged, and a different look to their box. They were all so unique and yet they held the same identity. How we longed to be able to look into their eyes and tell them they are more. Tell them they are children of God, precious in His sight. We read 1 Timothy 4:12 to them, praying that a seed would be planted and they would know that they should not let anyone look down on them because they are young.
As their boxes began to dry, our squad leader had the idea to write their names on the side. We luckily found a store that sold permanent markers and within a few minutes we were writing their names on the side of their boxes so big that you could easily read it from across a street. These boys had something that was theirs, all theirs. They had something that gave them an identity instead of just a street boy or a boy that sold shoes. They had a name. We needed some help spelling most of them, but when we were finished, and they were given new polish, we watched as they walked out of the church with a sense of pride about them. They held onto their boxes and admired them. The dispersed once they arrived at the park finding customers in order to have money to take home for the day. We saw a sea of blue boxes with encouraging words and a name. What is in a Name? Can you imagine if you didn’t have one, if you were only known for your occupation? How small would that make you feel? How worthless would you be in the eyes of the people around you? God blessed us yesterday with the reminder that our identity is found in Christ. It isn’t about what we are doing on this earth, but who we are in the Lord and what we are doing through Him. What started out as 12 boys became almost 20. We had blue hands, clothes, feet, and even hair after it was all done, but we rejoiced in knowing that these boys now had a way of being who they are, of letting others know that they are more than shoe shiners ,they are children of God.
