Can You Spare Some Change?

It was a warm, sunny day. All the business people and college students out walking in the noon sunshine were casting off their coats and enjoying one of the first nice days of early spring. Then I saw her out of the corner of my eye. She was standing in the shadows of a tall building, dressed in a worn winter coat, with a woolen hat on her head. She had several plastic bags around her that I imagined contained her few possessions. She held a cardboard sign asking for work, money or food. Everyone hurried past her, as if she were invisible. I handed her the few quarters that were in my pocket and she nodded her thanks. It was then that I realized that I had something in common with that poor, homeless woman, because I needed some change, too…





















Dear God,

I’m not asking for great riches or major transformation, just a little change every day, a little difference that will draw me closer to You.

I could stand on any old street corner begging for handouts, but that’s not the kind of change that will enrich my life. Material riches won’t give me the kind of gain that will bring about lasting joy in my soul. Instead, it is the spiritual riches that only You can give to me will endure and bring me peace.

I know that it is not within my power to make anyone else change. My husband, my children, my coworkers and friends are all going to be whatever it is that you call them to be, even if it displeases me. But if you would only give me a little change, modify my attitudes and the way I see others, I know that everything in my surroundings will change for me as if I had new eyes and a new heart. Those things that irritate me in others will no longer be bothersome because the change you give to me will increase my tolerance in direct proportion to the increase of Your love in my heart.

So God, it is to you that I reach out my hand. The change that I ask for won’t buy me a warm meal, but it will warm my heart and soul with Your gift of love. This gift would be but a pittance for you to share, but to me, it is worth more than all the gold and silver in the world. For with your love, I can do more than carry on and accept those around me who cause me difficulty or grief. When I am filled with Your love, I will be able to love others with all of my being.

Please hear my prayer, my plea for change, Lord. Change me so that through this metamorphosis, the whole world will be brighter and more beautiful. Amen.


-As seen on CatholicMom.com