Church Outside the Walls

My husband Keith and I had just experienced a wonderful morning at church full of fellowshipping, praising and teaching one Sunday morning recently. But it was as we were heading out the doors to go home that another sort of church began. We were introduced to a homeless man who had come to our church for the second week in a row.  He said he was walking by and loved the name...Living Hope...and he was needing hope.

Keith and I talked with him for just a few minutes and he grabbed my heart as quickly as Greg had. We invited him out to lunch. Over food, the three of us shared about our lives and the goosebumps began to raise on the back of my neck.  I kept invisioning God and Greg high fivin'. 

The man was so ariticulate, so humble.  He was not your typical homeless person, as if there were a typical homeless person.  As he said and I believe to be so true, homelessness could happen to any one of us just by two or three bad decisions. He had a good job at one time. Things happened and he began traveling looking for another when he became stuck here in my town. He was not angry. He was not upset. He talked about his eyes being opened since being on the streets to what was really important in life and it was not about things. I couldn't help but smile big as did my husband because I was on day 38 of a 40 day give away of our own things. My eyes had been opened too. . .to how unimportant things were.  "People are what is important.  People need to be loved. . . not things", said this humble man next to me. I nodded in agreement. I asked him if he would share his whole story for my book. He teared up saying he would be honored. No mister, I would be honored.

As we were finishing up our lunch, it began to rain hard with heavy hail. Our lunch guests eyes became huge with worry about his shopping cart that he had left back at the church parking lot with all of his belongings.  We rushed back to the church and put his things into the back of our car.  Then Keith and I did something we have never done before.  We paid for a room for two nights at a motel for our new friend.  I didn't hesitate at all to spend the money and neither did my husband.  We are not rich people. We live very frugal so as to be able to put our son through college and to not be in debt.  Years ago, even though we never had a lot of money, I would spend it on clothes and shoes and other pretty things.  But being in this ministry, it has done something to my soul and those material items are not that important anymore.  It's the souls of those walking out there just trying to survive. The money we spent on that room was more gratifying to me than any other money I have ever spent. 

This whole experience of the Blanket Ministry has made me be much more aware of the people around me. It has made me even more sensitive to the people around me than ever before. It has made me listen more intently to that whisper than comes my way from the Lord and to the touch of His pushing me when He is leading in a certain direction.  Nothing is more rewarding than to follow that push and that whisper and to say "Yes, Lord, Yes."

Church outside the walls of the building with a cross. . .the cross is out there, everywhere. . .do you hear?  Do you feel the push?  What do you say? If I wasn't out right ignoring Him, I used to say, "I can't Lord, I'm too scared, I'm too weak, I'm too unqualified, I'm too this, too that." And then I read in a book...I can't do it. . .but with God all things are possible and I've learned over the years with God, things are exciting and life is much more rewarding when we let Him take control and we just become obedient.

Yes, the church experience is not just for inside the walls where it is safe. . .it's there on the outside as well where you might feel vulnerable. . .but you have One walking with you who will guide, whisper and maybe even push, but it will always be in the right direction.

Our new friend was hired at Panera this past week.


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