Willy had finally reached the CVS at the top of the hill past the MARTA overpass. He was out of breath and weary. Rebecca walked him inside (still wearing my flip-flops) while another teammate ran to get some food for Willy. I waited momentarily. In that moment, I thought about what the Holy Spirit had been stirring in me. I thought about this man, this image that he had brought to mind during listening prayer. I realized that he wasn’t done with Willy.
I entered the CVS barefoot in search of Willy. When I found him, he was sitting down in an aisle with a police officer standing beside him. I thought he might be in trouble with the law but I soon realized that was not the case. The officer was on the radio calling for an ambulance! Apparently Willy had doubled over due to pain in his side. He was clearly hurting. Matt Patch joined up with me at this time and we bought Willy some shoes. When we went to check on him, I just sat there rubbing his back and assuring him that God loved him. It occurred to me what I was supposed to do. During this training camp, God had revealed new things to me that I had never encountered, why would it stop here? It was as if I had finally embraced the authority that the Holy Spirit had in my life to do the unimaginable. I was meant to bring Kingdom. I was meant to bring glory and honor to God. I was meant to love the unloved and to heal the wounded. It is Christ in me, his Holy Spirit, that is what it means to bring his Kingdom. To walk in expectation because he is God! It suddenly clicked with me.
I laid my hand across Willy’s ailing side while Matt stood beside and prayed. My hand was filled with warmth. I felt the area that was grieving Willy. I did not tell Willy that I was praying for him or that I was asking the Lord to heal him, I simply stated, “Willy, tell me when the pain is gone”. I expected the Holy Spirit to move in his life and in his body. After a matter of seconds, Willy gazed into my eyes and responded “I’m not hurting anymore”. I saw relief in his eyes, I saw a joy that can only be given by God. This was all new territory. This was Kingdom being gained, one step, one life at a time. I told Willy about the love that the Father had for him. That he has not forgotten him. There was hope that filled his eyes, I knew it was connecting.The ambulance arrived while Willy waited outside chowing down on some chicken. I sat amazed at what just happened. The paramedics questioned him about the manner of which he found his clothing. They asked Matt and I if we had given him money and we of course said no. They talked to him as if he was just another homeless person. But I knew differently. You see, in the minutes that I had known Willy, I knew that he had a story. I knew that he was important to God and his Kingdom. Whether that actually manifests in his life is on him and how he would respond to what happened that day. But I finally realized what it meant to make myself fully available. I desire more of him and less of me. I hope and pray that Willy comes to realize that he encountered God in a real and personal way that day in downtown Atlanta.
Please pray for Willy. May your Kingdom come in his life Lord.
