prayer that He bring someone across our path for whom we could be Jesus incarnate. After yesterday's initial presentation of a person in need, they kept coming. One right after another. After 3:00 PM, as I was driving to see another person, I stopped and grabbed a quick lunch inside a Burger King in a tough part of North Charleston. I rarely go inside, but this time I went in to order my take-out. I don't know why. There was a young boy in there who kept coming up to the counter and then would walk away. Finally the clerk said, "You gonna order something, young sir?" I figured he didn't have any money. I said, "I'll bet what he's hoping for is a little free ice cream." I was prepared to pay for it myself, of course, but she looked at me and then at him. And she said, "Would you like some ice cream?" He nodded his head. She went and brought back a beautiful, uber-tall ice cream cone. A successful negotiation. My heart was already so full, but now it was overflowing.
As I was pulling back out onto the road, my phone rang. It was an old friend with a broken heart. I had suggested the week before that he come hang with us a few days to clear his head, but had become so busy since that I had forgotten about this invitation that I had offered. He was on his way back home on a business trip and was literally at a cross-roads. He could go north to home or south to Charleston. I had plans, but said (on high alert with God-radar by now), "Come on! We'd love to see you." He was at my house by the time I finished with my other mission. We talked, had dinner, talked some more and he spent the night. He just left, and so concluded a 30 hour period of non-stop hospitality to friends and strangers, ministry and joy, none of which I had planned, but all of which has caused my little Grinch heart to grow many sizes.
God is true, and He is good. Just be ready when you pray that prayer. Just be ready.
All this was the result of daring God in prayer to bring to us people to be Jesus with and for. If you will go back and look at the prayer on "Make It a Red Letter Day" original and update, you'll see that I said I was ready. But I wasn't ready for this. God made His love and presence known in such obvious ways that only a rank dullard would have missed it.
The red letters of Jesus became a red carpet on which to walk. Maybe this is why in the early days, they referred to Christians as, "the people of the Way."
CH
I've had many of these kinds of experiences at St. George's, so when I read this this morning I expected something like this, not just for others, but for myself. I was kinda anticipating something supercool... Unfortunately, I didn't exactly avail myself to people encounters since I had to work a nightshift and was doling out my energy and time. So I made some food to share as I had promised my Navy brothers a week ago and took a nap. When I got to work things were as they always were, no special opportunity that I noticed. I realized maybe my experiences today would be vicarious, which is cool too. So I go for a run which I try to do when time permits and on nights it usually does. It was kinda rainy, so I chose a steep part of the sidewalk under the shade of a massive monkey pod tree that partially shielded the mountain mist from soaking me. This evening workout has become prime meditation time for me and so of course I was contemplating. As I sprinted up the sidewalk which was very dimly lit I noticed there was just enough residual light from across the street to provide a silhouette of a huge caterpillar crossing the sidewalk where I was running. I saw it just in time not to step on it. I laughed because I knew immediately that was my God moment today. Some people might think that is not what we're talking about but the more you ask to see God's world, the more you see moments like this as exactly what we speak of, which is why I had to laugh. Not the moment I was expecting at all. When I got back to my desk I looked up a bio on Father Du Tiel, the man who founded the only homeless shelter in Hawaii and noticed one of his quotes, which was something to the effect of our only job in life being to be human and to help. It seemed fitting for my day. I didn't help a person (not that I'm aware of) but I didn't harm.
ReplyDeleteI was touched by your post, Chris. When we look for Christ, desire Christ we often find him in the most unusual places.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your encounters with Christ.
Remain open.