Ever been scared? nervous? excited? Have you ever felt like you were put in a particular situation for a reason but didn't know why at first? Sometimes we need to just open our eyes and see what is put before us and be prepared to take hold of each opportunity.
Yesterday I spent some time at the park and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine, but after a while all I really wanted to do was go on a walk by the creek. For some reason the thought wouldn't leave my mind and eventually everyone else got on board and we decided to go. We probably got like 20 yards into the walk when I saw a bike parked along the path with a little trailer thing behind it. It was obvious that this was a homeless person's bike, but I didn't see anyone around it at first. We just kept on walking and didn't really think much of it until we saw the guy and he started making conversation with us. At first he only was talking about small things like plants, but for some reason I just had this urge that we needed to stay. I knew my brother was wanting to leave and continue the walk, but I wouldn't even turn around to look at him because I knew then I'd give in and we'd go on our way. Instead I stood where I was and just kept listening to what he had to say and chiming in every now and then.
Not even 5 minutes later this guy started talking about how he was so depressed and he just went off on his life story. He said something about God and how he knew that God had control but he just wanted to see him face-to-face. I knew right then that this was why we were here. The poor man had been through so much. His kids are in the penitentiary, his wife left him for another man but now has cervical cancer, and his mother isn't in stable condition either. Almost all of his friends have either committed suicide or been murdered and he even pulled some papers out of his backpack to show us the reports.
On his bike he had placed a lot of skulls. There had to be at least 15 and there were even some in his backpack. My friend Jared asked him what the skulls were for and at first he just said it was a guy thing, but then he said that actually he put them there because they were truth. "These skulls are truth because they show death, and death is truth." That nearly brought me to tears. This man seemed to have no hope after all he'd been through. But then Jared said something that hit home... "But Jesus is life and life is truth." He stopped right there and looked at us and then this is when he started asking us even more questions. It seemed for a while that he would think of an excuse to everything we had to say but then my friend Corinne and I removed ourselves from the conversation and let Matt and Jared talk to him and instead we stood behind them and just prayed. As we were praying I could overhear him listening to all that Matt and Jared had to say. It was so cool to see what kind of work God was doing right then. There were tears just because it was so sad all of the things he had let himself believe and then how he had handled everything in his life. He told us straight up that he was so unhappy and didn't feel worth anything or that anyone loved him. That's when I looked straight in his eyes and told him "God loves you. Jesus loves you. We all make mistakes, but we get second chances. God loves you right now." As I said this I saw tears in his eyes.
As we continued our conversation with him, we just felt a sudden urge to just pray for him. He said he would really like that so we all got in a huddle and began to pray, when a lady rounded the corner of the path as she was on her walk. At first it felt kind of awkward, but then she smiled at us and asked if she could join too! It was so cool! After we finished praying she went on her way and we continued to talk to him. He told us he would really like to get help and that he would love to start going to church. We told him we'd meet him at a church in Albany at 11 if he was willing to go and he said he'd be there. After a little bit more chatting we all went on our way with heavy, yet light hearts, in prayer, and with hope of what would happen at church.
He never ended up coming to church, but we still rejoiced in the opportunity we got to minister to him. As we were leaving the path from him, Matt decided to give him something to remind him of us and of God's love and to remember that moment. We can only pray that he will.
This man's name was Eddie. All weekend he has been on my heart and on my mind and in my prayers. I feel so honored that God would even give me an opportunity like that. It's funny because I have been praying that God would give me chances to reach out to others, but I never thought it would come in a way like that. But I guess that's why God is so cool- He just brings up the most unexpected situation to make sure we are prepared to reach out. I guess that's why we always need to be prepared. I knew there was a reason that I wanted to go on that walk so much and especially down that particular path, but when it came time to talk to Eddie I honestly felt kind of scared. I mean I didn't know this guy or what he would do, but I could tell that he needed someone to listen. Jesus said, "It's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Not that I'm a doctor by any means, but Jesus is. He can heal us no matter what we've done and make us a new person from the inside-out.
Eddie has been through so much and he had a lot of advice to give us. "Stay away from alcohol. Drugs are not worth it. None of it has made me truly happy but instead I feel so sad and empty." I don't know what kind of an impact we made in Eddie that day, but I do know that he made a huge impact on me. I want to reach out to others no matter what the cost and know that in some way God will work. All we can do is pray for opportunities, take advantage of them, and pray that the Lord will do His work. Tonight as I go to sleep and throughout the week during everyday life I will continue to remember the words of Eddie and that God loves him and no matter what he deserves a good life and deserves prayer.
If you think of it...pray.
