Roll away your stone

I’ve started what I like to call “street ministry.” (Don’t worry mom and dad, I promise I am safe) Houston is a city full of people thirsty for something more than ordinary. Every time I drive to see a friend, I see someone on the side of the road begging for mercy. My first encounter was with a guy named David. I saw him every night in the same spot in front of a gas station. The funny thing about David is, I never saw him not smiling. The joy in his life radiated to those around him. One night, I decided to pull over and talk with this guy. I walked up to him and naturally, he was smiling. We started with some small talk, and after a while he warmed up to me and started talking about more in depth details of his life. I’ll spare you all the details, but basically, this dude has been abandoned by everyone in his life and has lost everything of value, and has nothing left but his faith. He started crying to me at one point in our conversation, looked me straight in the eyes and said, “I realized that the only thing worth holding onto in this world, is the love and joy of Christ Jesus my Lord.” How powerful is that? I immediately became enthralled with everything David was saying. I got my guitar out of my trunk and asked if he played. And we jammed on my guitar for a while. Then we walked to walmart and got some candy. We came back to his “spot” and colored some pictures from coloring books I had in my car. (yes, this actually happened) Don’t worry, it was Curious George. I spent a good two hours with this guy. He never once asked me for money. Or to give him anything. The only thing he asked me was to pray for him. I realized that people on the streets aren’t always there to just beg for money. Some just want interaction. To have somebody actually take interest in the things they are saying. I like to believe that I am entertaining angels.

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

My second encounter was with a guy name Lewis. Words cannot express the impact that Lewis has had on my life. He is a 56 year old veteran. The first time I saw Lewis, I was on my way home from a friend’s house. He was standing at a light, grinning, holding a cardboard sign that read “hope.” Hope. He wasn’t asking for anything, or trying to prove that he was homeless. I rolled down my window and asked him to come talk to me. I asked him what he was doing, and his response was “What does it look like I’m doing?” (I do love people with a smart attitude.) We both laughed and I asked him if he wanted to sit down and talk for a while. He immediately lit up and agreed. We sat down in front of a gas station and talked for a good hour or two. Some people from the gas station came out and joined us. Lewis told me part of his life story: His wife had died a couple years ago. His kids are all in college and doing very well, however none of them offer to help him. He currently has been diagnosed with lung cancer and prostate cancer and is suffering from heart problems. (And I know you might be thinking, he just made all this up. But I went to the doctor with him this past week and it is in fact true.) The doctors have given him up until January to live. He can’t keep any food down. And yet he lives on the streets, happy. He has lost 60 pounds in the past month, according to the doctors, and spends his days looking for money to help pay medical bills/daily living. My favorite thing about Lewis is, he told the doctors to basically “shove it.” He said that no one can put a limit on his life except for his Savior. He simply told the doctors that he would die when the good Lord was good and ready to take him, and he didn’t feel like that was in January. (I love this dude’s attitude)  He holds the sign that reads hope because he says hope is all he has, and he wants to hold on to it and show it to the whole world as much as he can.  The only way he could think of doing it is standing out there with his sign.

I don’t think I am “endangering” my life by participating in street ministry. I know people are often scared to approach homeless people in fear of being stolen from or something of that nature. But really, the only thing these people ever stole from me was my heart. These people became my good friends.  I visited them regularly.  I hung out with them like I would any of my other friends.  And I truly believe that not only was I entertaining angels, but they were opening my eyes to a brand new way of living. And that way was in the arms of Christ.

Last Friday I was in a pretty good wreck as you can see from the pictures. I don’t really want to go into details. But long story short, I hit a deer, it totaled my car, and I came out with some cuts and bruises. Quite honestly, it was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I’ve had many people tell me that if that deer had hit one or two more inches closer to me, I might not be alive. This is my second near death car accident in the past year. Both times, people have told me how lucky I am to be alive. Looking back though, it isn’t luck. It’s angels. It’s pure salvation. It’s a blessing. Something about being inches from death sure does hit close to home. I like to call them my wake up calls. (But hopefully my wake up calls will be less life threatening next time!) 

Have you ever been scared to pray to God for something because you don’t want him to change your life? Because you don’t think his plan can be any better than yours, because you are content with the way you are. I’ve felt that. I’ve felt that daily up until a couple weeks ago. I was scared to pray because I didn’t want to be broken. But being wrecked, I realized, was the only way I would be able to find my way back to Him. Some people say that they were a wreck until they came to find Jesus, which is incredible in proving that Jesus does save lives. But in my case, I think I became a wreck after coming to know Jesus. If that makes sense. Ive realized recently that it isn’t the scriptures I don’t understand that scare me. It’s the ones that I do understand. The ones that challenge me and call me to become something more. I’ve made dumb decisions in my life, and I know I probably don’t have my life lined up perfectly right now. Perfection, in my eyes, is boring. I hope I’m never perfect. I hope for bigger things.  I hope to be daily renewed and challenged. I hope to have my heart gently broken every day so that the joy of the Lord can rush in. I hope for eternity.

Cheers to the World Race 2011.

I love you all.