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I've recently realized that I have taken for granted my life. I get to see people stepping out in faith daily. Crazy steps. I get to hear about God providing thousands of dollars for Racers. Regularly. I get to read about professing Christians being broken for what breaks God's heart. Redemption. I get to be inspired by men and women that put character in front of comfort. Consistently. I am challenged by peers that know what God calls them to do…and they do it. |
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In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here is a blog posted by Logan Kaynes about doing what could be done, needs to be done, by all of us no matter what continent we're on.
Beautiful Feet is a homeless outreach ministry located in the city center of Belfast, Northern Ireland. They meet every Tuesday night, preparing sandwiches, tea and coffee that they then go and hand out. We had the opportunity to work with them this past Tuesday night and it blew my mind.
I was nervous because I had never worked with homeless in this way before and I started to doubt my ability in being able to understand and relate with someone who is homeless. Why would they want to talk to me? What do I possibly have to say to them; how are you? What do you like to do for fun? These questions were rubbish. Despite my lack of faith and trust that God would provide, I joined my group and let my excitement overshadow my nerves. After talking with various homeless people, we then met 3 men in a hidden back alley behind a side road. Sam is 52 and has been homeless for about eight months, Billy is around 50 and has been homeless for about a year, and Michael, who is around 40, has been living on the streets for about 10 years. They were sitting helplessly, their eyes filled with sadness, drowning their sorrows with alcohol. I felt really led to go and sit next to Sam so I did. We continued to talk and I got to share with him some of my story of hopelessness, drinking and drugs. He got a little defensive so I backed down a bit. I then stood up because I thought we were getting ready to leave and Sam starts expressing his frustrations; “We don’t want food. We don’t want any more clothes. All we want is a safe place where we can sleep. We want a bed.” He went on for about 10 minutes and told me to look to the far left of him where there was a huge bloodstain on the ground. He told me that that happens often and that they have to sit and watch it because there is nothing they can do. My heart just continued to break for them. In the midst of Sam expressing his pain, I heard the Lord say Hug him. When I heard that, I immediately said no way. He is in the middle of expressing his anger; I surely can’t do that right now. What if it was crossing boundaries? What if he refused the hug? All of my what ifs prevented me from obeying God in that moment. Then I felt the Lord pressing on my heart and he wouldn’t relent, so I couldn’t avoid Him any longer. I sat back down and took my camera off my neck and I approached Sam. I said, “Sam, I have a question.” He goes, “What?” (in a not so nice tone of voice). I said, “Do you mind if I give you a hug?” He looks at me sternly and frustratingly says, “two seconds”. So I go in and give him a hug and two seconds turned into five minutes. As I was hugging him so tight I said to him, “Sam, I am so sorry that I can’t give you a bed tonight and that all I can give you is a hug.” As he was hugging me, I felt him have a huge sigh of relief in my arms. Before letting me go he said, “I want my friends to have hugs too.” He then let me go, stood up and said, “Who is going to hug me next?” (with a huge grin on his face). It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. The rest of the group I was with hugged them one by one. His sorrow became joy. His pain fled. His frustration was relieved. I never knew the impact that a hug could have. I am all about a hug that revolutionizes and so I say, hug on… Love and Hugs, |
