I am unsure of exactly how to start this blog post. For
there are good things to tell, and harsh truths to be had. I will start with
good and leave you with the thoughts that are going to be swimming somewhere in
the chasms of my mind tonight as I lie down in a bed with sheets and blankets.
The good news is this. Today we got to help out the Dublin Christian
Mission (D.C.M.) by cleaning out their main building. It was a lot of fun..
(Said in a slightly sarcastic voice) So, here I am, walking down from the 2nd
floor with a box of books, a pillow and a 6′ fluorescent tube light bulb.
As I step around the corner and into a large gymnasium style
room I see Blake Rushing, 20′ away, pull his right arm back, lean forward and
release. Suddenly a frisbee is hurled through the air in my direction. It was a
sneaky cowardess attack from a sad, sad man. The frisbee suddenly strikes, of
all things, the 6′ light bulb. Glass shatters and falls to the hardwood floor,
my jaw along with it. Blake stands straight up, and as we make eye contact we
realize just how ridiculous life can be. Bursting into laughter, I set all my
stuff down and we both just laugh for a few minutes.
Life is good sometimes. The craziest of things can bring
such a smile.
But sometimes there is a much different light to this life.
I met a man named Paul tonight as we went and did the street ministry with the Mustard
Seed gang again. Paul was lying underneath a covered archway of stone inside of
a sleeping bag atop a cardboard mattress. As I walked up to see if he would
like some soup or a sandwich, he rolled over to show a silhouette of an old man’s
bearded face.
We talked for only a moment, giving introductions and what
not, when Paul asked, “Do you know MIcheal?”
“No”, I replied, “Who is he?”
Paul gently said, “he is the guy who died in this spot last
week. The “drink” finally got him. This is where he slept, he died in this
sleeping bag.”
Paul continued to tell me about how they had been friends
for years. My heart breaks for him tonight as I think more about all of the
harsh realities of this world. What is worse, losing a long time friend, being
so cold that you are now sleeping in the same dirty sleeping bag that he died
in?
I sometimes wonder, “What hope do I actually bring?”
I can only pray for
miracles to happen in a life like Pauls. I can only give him the little bit
that I have.
I know God is alive, He is well, and He is here daily
meeting us all at the point of our need. Sometimes I wish I could see this
world through the eyes of a creator, not the created.
Lord, keep Paul warm tonight. Pour your spirit on him as he sleeps and
give him joy and hope in the time of the hopeless. God all I ask for is that
you show up in Paul’s life in a way that touches him deeply. In Jesus name,
Amen
