Sunday, August 23rd
Discovery Church, Ireland
Gilbert. We met Gilbert at a pitch (field) we were cleaning on Saturday. Our job was to clean the field to make it look nicer for the kids who come to Bible Club during the summer. A job that could be fun, especially if you like to clean – like my friend, Katie. And I do love a good project where you can see a difference from beginning to end. However, this was nearly impossible. Not because it was so messy or because of lack of work force but because we had the tools for one person – 1 shovel and 1 trimmer. So, after I lost the arm wrestling match for those two tools, I was left to join the others in our attempts to cut weeds with our bare hands. This can be challenging and after a couple of hours of this, we were all pretty excited when kids actually came to the park. I am sure we scared some of them away with how eager we were to talk to them, talk to anyone, really. A dog. A skateboarder passing by. And there he was. Gilbert. He was supervising his sweet 3 year old, Sophie on the slide. She was precious. I love kids and have seen a few in my day, but her brilliant blue eyes stole my heart. She would climb up the slide steps and slide down into the arms of her father. It was quite sweet. The funny thing about this duo, is that he approached us. Maybe not too funny, because what we were doing did require a bit of a commentary. We did draw attention to ourselves – not only by our weird work habits, but because we were also wearing bright orange construction vests. Yep, it is true. On a side note – when we cleaned graffiti off buildings in Galway, with these same orange vests, we were asked multiple times if we were doing community service for prison. So, I am sure Gilbert might have thought the same thing. Except the warden with a gun, was no where to be found. Perhaps that is why he asked us why we were still there and not making a run for it! We talked for a few minutes, but being led away by his precious 3 year old to the swings, he walked away and we went back to puling weeds.
The next morning we went to church and like every good church, there is a meet and greet portion on the program. Truth be told, I used to cringe during times like this. But I decided to be friendly and actually greet people. And I turned around to find Gilbert behind me. He said that he was glad to be here and that he woke up trying to decide if he would come. He said he went to church when he was younger but hasn’t been in a while. He said that him and Sophie’s mom were two different people and they couldn’t make ammends. He said that he was in a tough spot because he was lonely and didn’t know anyone because all his friends were the wrong crowd. I just listened and was actually thankful for the long meet and greet. We sat beside him while Pastor Paul brought the word. And it took everything I had to not look at Gilbert during the message. To not elbow him when PATOR Paul spoke of transformation and the hope of Jesus Christ. To not pat him on the leg when Pastor Paul asked what was beyond fixing in our lives that can’t be changed by something inside of us. To not lean in closer to ask if he was listening when Pastor Paul asked if there was someone in the room who was struggling and needed someone to walk beside them.
It was almost more than I could bear. It made my heart swell with gladness to be a part of God’s pursuit of His people. To be reminded of His pursuit of me. To just watch as God worked in the life of one of His children – well, two. Gilbert’s and … mine. I am looking forward to this Sunday to see if He will be back. I am surely praying that he will be. That the Holy Spirit will “eat” away at him and that I will turn around this Sunday to find Gilbert ready and waiting to be welcomed into the arms of grace. To hear of his stories this week that can only be explained by the presence of God, the pursuit of the most loving God.
