A few Sundays ago after Church, I remember being in a rush to get home. My friends and I were stuck in horrible traffic. Stuck behind about 20 cars, I looked ahead and saw an old man sitting on the side of the curb in the blazing hot sun with a dirty long sleeve shirt and ripped jeans. As I came to a stop at the red light, the old man walked up to my car. If I’m being honest, I got kind of anxious. Why me? Why my car? I rolled my window half way down and he started talking about how he was hungry. The light suddenly turned green and I told him I was sorry but I had to go and wasn’t able to help. As I drove away I started to feel sick. I heard Jesus speak to me telling me to turn around and go back. I quickly turned the car around and sped back to where he was sitting. I parked in a tow away zone and immediately hopped out of the car. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. His name was Timothy. He was a drunk. Lost his belongings in a fire and lived under a bridge. Oh how my heart broke. He was hungry, hurting, looking to be healed and looking to be loved. Timothy wanted more. He wanted purpose, he wanted to be full. I scrummaged through my purse to find a $10 bill that would soon be his. I asked if I could pray over him and he looked up and gave me his hands. Those hands grabbed mine so tightly. As I sat and prayed over this man, he started to sob. Timothy and I sat there praising Our God. He never let go of my hands. The next words that came out of his mouth left me in a river of tears, “Can I tell you something ma’am? I wanted to die. Before you came over here, I was going to kill myself and jump off the bridge today. If it wasn’t for you and for Jesus, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Timothy gave his life to Jesus that day. He crossed over from death to life. From darkness to light. From defeat to victory. From shame to grace. From fear to faith. From bondage to freedom. In awe of this relentless love that I have been freely given. This love that never stops pursing me. This love that wants me in my mess. This love that is unshakable. God, I praise you for Timothy and those hands that forever left me changed.
