One of the things I have written about most over the years is mission trips. I typically journal at the end of each day and recap and talk about what I saw and how I felt God. I love it when these happen but recently it happened in here in town on the East side in a entirely new way.
Jeannie was in Africa and I was at the ballpark watching Beck’s game and my phone rang. It was a lady named Kim she is a sweet lady and took care of me and some other guys on a homeless retreat I went on many years ago. Kim took us into her world walked us around town. We even ended up serving other homeless folks early one Saturday morning. She is turning her life around and attending school online to become a nurse.
I will be totally honest. I never felt called to love on the homeless. I have a heart for them but never felt the pull like Mexico. I think I missed it though. I know I did. John 13: 34-35 This verse doesn’t say love those that fit your schedule or those that are like you or those that you visited. Pretty much it talks about loving people. I didn’t get it. Kim called me and I sat there listening to her talk about needing paper products and food. I wish what I said was “I would be there soon and we could go shopping.” Instead I let the silence do my talking. It was wrong. I hung up and knew it was wrong. And I imagine it did not feel good to her either. To be vulnerable enough to ask for help and then not get it. A sweet lady trying to turn a life around. I wrote it off as not my ministry. What a jerk. I know God loves me. He saw it coming and because He loves me He redeemed it. In a way only He can. Like I said I knew it was wrong and the next day I was headed downtown around lunch.
I was praying while driving which not sure if that is a good idea but something I regularly do. Eyes open of course! Lets just say it this way, the Holy Spirit and I were chatting on the way back to work. He said you should go find Kim. I said I will call her. Called two numbers. Both disconnected. You should Facebook her. OK I will. Nothing. Yes I was driving. You’re missing the point.
Ok so at this point pretty much most people would say oh you know what was not meant to be. That was not really where my head went this time. He (Holy Spirit) said let your Father do it. What? Let your FATHER find her. Now just in case you think I am hearing voices that is not the case. I simply felt that I was being led to pray to find Kim and I had to trust He could do it. So I did. I started towards the East side. Should be simple enough I thought. East of 35 around my office. I got to the East side and started to remember she lived in a housing complex. Then as I drove around looking at people and waiting for Kim to be sitting on a corner somewhere I remembered a little more. We talked about her being close to my favorite East side place, Ciscos. So somewhere around there. Got over there then found this big place. And 4th and Chicon I remember the complex is there. The complex is like scattered over 4 blocks. I drove around it once. I stopped for a bit and prayed a little more. I prayed that Kim would hear and trust the Lord to lead her outside. I needed her to come outside. I sat there for a while as a man walked to a couple of doors and handed out food to some of the residents. I almost asked him if he knew Kim. He went on and I started to doubt and began to drive again and looked down a street to my left. There were two women out on a porch that had not been there the first time. YEP. You got it. I backed up and turned down the street and pulled up in front of Kim’s house. Rolled down my window and said “Jesus sent me over to take you to the store, you want to go!” We both laughed she of course had no idea what I was talking about but we loaded up and drove over to HEB.
This is the first time in my life that I prayed like this. I don’t mean like “God use me for this or that” I mean I prayed “God I need you to take me to Kim and I need you to get her outside”. I am not going to drop the prayer works line on you. I think there is more to it than that. I don’t know. This is the first time I felt that my Faith and my prayers worked together to accomplish something which I feel was impossible. Could I drive around Austin and find Kim today? I don’t know. I can tell you that day I knew I was going to find her.
I could have missed this blessing. I could and almost missed this whole thing because I nearly just went to work. If I am honest and think about my daily life and the people that I am prompted to speak to but never do. Strangers that pass by me or people I know that pop in my head. I sense there is a conversation that could or should happen but I NEVER embrace it. It is scary to me when I think about these conversations. But what if I am missing it. What if each of these opportunities is a missed chance to let somebody know about Jesus and that person never finds out. Kim knows Jesus. She will be in heaven. What do these conversations even look like? Nutso! Me walking around asking people if they know Jesus? I doubt it. I know one thing, well two things: the first is this is the craziest blog post I ever wrote and two and decidedly more important that if talking to a stranger can somehow bless them and me that it is probably a risk I should take more often than say “never”. See maybe the reason we are supposed to care for these people is not really for them. Maybe it is so that we can experience the power and majesty of our Father. I did on this day.
But see I think I missed it. I know I missed it. There is no calling for this group or that group.