Everyone has a Story...

"On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: 'Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about it?' For a while God said nothing. That night he replied, quite suddenly: 'I certainly did something about it. I made you.'"

I once heard a story about a homeless man on Hollywood Blvd who really thought he was invisible. But one day a kid handed the man a Christian pamphlet. The homeless guy was shocked and amazed, “what! You can see me? How can you see me? I’m invisible!”

It isn’t hard to comprehend this man’s slow spiral into invisibility. Once on the street, people started to walk past him, ignoring him as if he didn’t exist… much like they do a piece of trash on the sidewalk. It’s not that people are bad, but if we make eye contact, or engage in conversation, then we have to admit they exist and that we might have a basic human need to care. But it’s so much easier to simply close our eyes and shield our hearts to their existence.

I not only feel their pain, I truly know their pain. I lived their pain. You’d never know it now but I was a homeless person. Fourteen years ago, I lived on Hollywood Blvd. But today, I find myself looking away, ignoring the faces, avoiding their eyes — and I’m ashamed when I realize I’m doing it. But I really can feel their pain, and it is almost unbearable, but it’s just under the surface of my professional exterior.

The invisible guy didn’t intend to become homeless. I didn’t plan on living on the street. Everyone on the streets has their own story, some made bad decisions, others were victims, but none of them deserve what they have been left with, and it is a reflection of our own society that we just leave them there.

Mark Horvath is a man on a mission. He came from a place of homelessness and then went back to document the stories of homeless men, women and children all around the country. The stories he has found break my heart. 

I wonder, if it weren't for him, would these people have had the opportunity to ever tell their story? Would the cold of the coming December nights or the burn of a hungry stomach take them before they could ever share? Some are homeless because of something they did. Many are homeless because of something that happened to them. Do we care? Or do we treat them like they are invisible?

If we truly serve a God of mercy and forgiveness, then may our hearts begin to break in a new way for those who need someone to come along and be their miracle.

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Lesson for Today: Old friends, new joys.

Calvin...

This past Friday, we were in Richmond looking for the location of Bottom's Up, a mom and pop pizza place. While driving around the city, we saw a homeless man on the side of the street, holding a sign, asking for money. We were stopped at a red light and as I continued to watch him, my heart broke for him. I wished I had a McDonald's gift card, or something else useful, to give to him. But the light turned green and my window of opportunity to help him closed.

We finally found Bottom's Up and learned that a table for five would be a 45 minute wait. So we put our name down and decided to wander the city in the meantime. As we did, we found ourselves unintentionally back on the street where this man had been standing. My heart silently rejoiced as I saw God opening our window once again. We walked up to him, handed him some dollars, and asked if we could pray for him. Looking a mix of grateful and slightly confused, he readily agreed. "Calvin, my name's Calvin," he told us when we asked. So we stood there and prayed with, and over, Calvin. 

We left him with a "God bless you" and some extra money in his pocket - but my heart still felt heavy. Feeling like we had simply thrown money at a problem, I knew we needed to do something more. So we decided we should go back and invite Calvin to dinner. This way, we could not only feed him, but build a bit of a relationship with him. So we wandered back and asked Calvin to dinner. But he declined. "I just had some McDonald's and Im full now. Thanks though." After pressing if he was sure, we left Calvin to stand there with his sign and went on our way.

Two things impressed on my heart from our interaction with Calvin. First, in order to meet a need, it is imperative to know what the need is. Deep, huh? But so often we act on perceived needs, the needs we assume someone has. However, meeting a perceived need rather than an actual need doesnt help that person any. In trying to help Calvin, I wanted to meet his need for food, when in fact, that was only what I perceived his need to be. And in doing so, I didnt meet his actual needs. I still believe we did what God asked us to do. And there is no regret in that. But when serving others, we need to be focused on finding out what the need is; we cant be concerned with simply meeting a need. This is why partnering with inner city ministries is vital. 

The second thing I walked away from Calvin with is that ministry is everywhere. Sometimes we have this idea that we have to be set up in the right circumstances and take months of preparation to participate in outreach or serving ministry. But its all around you. Its in the person who sits next to you at work. Its in the neighbor on his driveway three doors down. Its in a homeless man on the street when you are on vacation. Dont think ministry is something you always have to go find. Its all around you. And understanding that will change the way we "be the Church."

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Lesson for Today: Mice like peanut butter. It works, oh, so well.