I drive through a lively Gypsy neighborhood every day. They are poor people, and their tiny homes are made of stacked river stones. The Gypsies lead lives very different from the Turks around them. For example, teenage Turks take clothing style cues from Western TV and movies. But the Gypsies don’t give up their heritage so easily. Gypsy women dress in all the colors of the fruit stand. A typical teenage Gypsy girl strides confidently through town wearing a vivid red floral skirt down to her ankles, a bright yellow-and-turquoise blouse and a purple head covering with gold trim, all accented with bright green socks and a winning, carefree smile. How do they teach their children to love being Gypsies? I wonder.

Gypsies love to congregate in the street. They have no yards, so they use the asphalt as if it were their lawn. They are as social as birds and mill around in the street chatting and laughing. Often, they roll out barrels to block traffic and celebrate birthdays and weddings in the street. The street is quite narrow. I could nearly knock on the front doors of Gypsy homes while sitting in my car.

In front of one Gypsy home, a middle-aged invalid man sits out front in a wheelchair near several elderly people, head thrown back, legs and arms dangling. But he is always in clean clothes, face shaven, and well positioned to soak up the sunshine. Every day, the sight reminds me of the love of the family who cares for him and the older folks so well.

Yesterday, as I passed through the neighborhood, I saw something that stirred my heart. From my car window, I caught a glimpse of a teenage girl, her face as cheerful as a patch of spring daisies, bending down in front of an elderly woman to put socks on her feet. The scene reminded me of Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Who are the meek? William Miller asked and answered that question in an 1842 article. He wrote, and I agree: “Where then can we find the meek? I answer, from the four winds of heaven, from every continent, from land and sea, from every age, from every clime, from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people on our globe, from every sect, from Catholic and Jew, from high and low, from rich and poor, from bond and free, from the fair Georgian to the dark African: ‘For thou was slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.’ Not all, of any class, or sect, or nation, kindred, tongue, or people; but, out of every class; so says the text, and so my soul believes. ‘And hast made us unto our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth forever.’”

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