Faithbook: Thank you, Marlie - On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Thank you, Marlie

“His heart, whenever he knew the child had been beaten, felt as if it were slightly too large for the space that was supposed to hold it.”
–Flannery O’Connor, “A View of the Woods”

The pizzas were delivered. Hundreds were delivered. And they were vegetarian pizzas, per Workman’s request. That makes a girl who doesn’t eat meat very happy.

On May 9th I wrote about Phillip Workman’s last request: that a homeless person in Nashville be delivered a meatless pizza. While the prison denied that request, many who heard about his final wish enacted that dream for the man who was executed last Wednesday. He fed them in abundance.

Like those who chose to order the pizzas for Workman, every once in while, true heartache tears me from my spiritual languor.

Sometimes I am pulled from my lethargy by the folks on the side of the road who act as human sandwich boards. In an affront to their dignity, they advertise furniture sales, restaurants and open houses on the placards they wear, becoming breathing human billboards. They do it for the money, of course, not out of a love for “$299 Loveseats.” My heart aches for them.

Marlie Casseus was a 14-year-old from Haiti with a 16-pound tumor on her face. Her tumor grew wildly out of control because her family could not find, let alone afford, medical care. She grew increasingly unrecognizable, and was the subject of shame and ridicule. In the summer of 2005, her father finally found an avenue for help after watching a news broadcast about a Haitian children’s charity. When I came across her story, I had no choice but to donate money to her cause.

Today I sat at a traffic light while a young man walked between cars –mine among them –on the Key Bridge in Georgetown. “Homeless. Please Help. God Bless,” his cardboard sign read. Should I give him some money? I wondered, considering research I have read on homelessness, as well as the teachings of Jesus. “Give to everyone who asks you,” He commands.

Frantically, I vacillated:

Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No

Here he comes don’t look him in the eye.

Today, I chose no.

On December 19, 2006, after finally recovering from her brutal surgeries, Marlie Casseus uttered her first words in six years, two gut-wrenching words that can move mountains (Matthew 21:21):

She said “Thank you.”

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Thank you, Marlie

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