Monday, March 29, 2010

if not for the grace of God, there go I...

Fact-lost things are always found the last place you look. Now it is up to you inventive types to find a way to go to that last place first. Think of all the time and money you can save by inventing this. And it will give us more time to lose more things, and the vicious cycle continues. Ideas are welcomed, as lately, more things seemed to get misplaced, and amazingly are always found right where they were left. But not always where we think we put them.
I would like you to see who, or whom you identify with in the next story. It really happened to me two weeks ago. Be honest, and then see where you find yourself, and why.
The people at the tailor's shop were kind enough to sew on a patch while I waited. So I decided to walk around downtown Escondido for 15 minutes. While walking I noticed a tall, homeless looking man coming towards me, where the sidewalk was narrow due to a sidewalk cafe. As he came closer, I stopped and let him pass-it was too narrow for both of us. He had his head down, hood over much of his face, and was carrying a pillow. Not making eye contact. When he saw me, he looked up, and I said "hey man, how's it going?" And he stopped, started to cry, and told me he was having a lousy day. So I turned and started to ask him questions, not probing, just wanting help. What's up, etc. And how can I help? His name was Curtis and he was from Arizona. He had just gotten out of jail in Mesa, was 19 years old, and had been abused. His family did not want him, so he came to California with his 17 year old sister, Corinne, and her friend. The previous afternoon, they had gotten roused by the cops for hanging out, and he had lost his sister when she fled the scene. He had told the same story to the police, and they said he they were looking for her. He had no money, was hungry, scared, and after the police booked him, released him. And once he went back to Arizona, he would be under arrest for a parole violation, and he didn't wish to go back to jail. But was frantic to find his sister!
He also had walked from Citrus to Center City Parkway twice, about four miles each direction. He explained he met some guys in back of a liquor store who gave him the pillow and sweatshirt, and had slept in a cardboard box there-and it was cold that night.
And my heart broke. Very calmly I asked him if he believed in prayer. He said yes, and let me pray for him out on the sidewalk. I prayed for peace, calm, and that he would find his sister. And we felt God's peace. I then offered him breakfast, so we walked a couple of blocks to Champions. Never been there, but heard it was good. Now, just prior to walking in, we encountered a couple who walked so we could not pass them. He seemed ok, but she had an attitude. Best described as #$*&@. You know, the fat, nasty ones who have license plate frames that say "yield to the princess" or "foxey Lady. And they are anything but. And they entered the diner before us, and stopped to visit. As we passed them to sit down, she gave us a snooty look, even sticking her nose in the air. How dare she have to share this planet with us? And now the same diner? We sat down, and waited for a waitress-which seemed like an eternity. It was like the scene in Easy Rider where no one would wait on them, until Billy started singing "the man is at the door, the man is at the door..." except we didn't leave. Finally a waitress approached us-my homeless friend Curtis with his pillow and hood over his head and me in my biker lite mode. When she saw we weren't spreading disease, she loosened up while many citizen types stared while we ordered, and then proceeded to eat. I am sure we surprised many by our abilities to use a fork. We ate, he was starved, and scared, and after I told him to use the bathroom and clean up while I waited. Interestingly, no one made conversation with us the whole time including the waitress, who was good to us, but could feel the pressure from her normal patrons because we were in "their" diner. We have a reputation to maintain you know, can't have hungry people in here...
We left, I got my jacket, and Curtis told me he would be ok, there was nothing else I could do for him. I had assured him the police were not looking for his sister, as he thought they would be, and God would take care of it. I gave him some money, telling him I trusted him it wasn't for drugs, and gave him my card. Told him keep in touch then left. Doing all I could, but feeling like an incomplete task was done, but not finished.
Needless to say I thought of him all day. And to my surprise, while talking with my friend Bob on the phone, he called in and left a message. He said "this is Curtis, the man you prayed for. I found my sister and wanted to thank you. I'm ok now, thanks." Hallelujah! Prayer answered! But it was his words that stuck with me. Even though I had fed him, and given him money, he remembered me as the man who had prayed for him. Because God had answered our prayer from that morning! And I hope he knew it was God who had answered his prayer!
So who are you in the story? Are you lost, and scared? Are you a stranger, and hungry and homeless. Or are you an arrogant citizen who has no time for the downtrodden? A servant, like the waitress, scared to do her job because of social pressures. Or are you just someone who loves the Lord enough to feed a hungry kid, as the good Samaritan did, and pray for him? Some days I am all of the above, but that morning I was a good Samaritan. God knew exactly what this Lazarus needed, and chose me to use to bless Curtis. He is someone's son, could be yours, but to God he is a lost and scared soul. Just the kind He died for on Good Friday.
The man who prayed for me. What a way to be remembered. The intangible he chose to identify me with, not the tangible. Wow! And that is the way I see Jesus. Praying for us, then meeting our needs. He knows where the lost are, and uses us to minister to them. Would you take in a stranger? Remember Jesus took us in before we were saved. Just a thought for next time the spirit moves your heart, and you wish to hide or say no. Curtis was blessed, but I was more so. I got to see the gospel in action, and grew closer to Jesus. And that is why we minister to a lost and dying world. The love of Jesus, who went back when you were the one in 99 lost. When you were hungry, when you were alone, and when you didn't fit in and were scared. He didn't ask personal, probing questions. He just loved. May we follow His example as He changes lives-ours included. Lost and found-just a scared kid, but in the eyes of the Lord, doing it for Him, as when we do it to the least, we are doing it to Him.
Thanks Lord, for He is still praying for us-right now. And someone today will enter your life to bless you. And it is all about Jesus!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com