Today as I stood in the streets of the downtown San Diego a couple thoughts ran through my head. I noticed how my fingers felt like they were frozen, and thought to myself how I needed to buy warmer shoes so that next time I stood out in the cold, my toes wouldn't feel like they would freeze off. And then I looked up, and saw the irony of these thoughts.
Across from me stood Albert and Mike, Albert the big white guy in a tough looking leather jacket and Mike the scrawny looking one, yet probably the happiest guy that I've ever met. The trashbag covered cart, their smell, their eagerness to receive the water and sandwiches that we made, each part of their appearance made known to the outside world that they were homeless. And while I stood thinking about how cold I was 15 minutes after getting out of my car, I knew I was stupid to think about myself when these guys LIVED out in the cold 24/7.
I was out in downtown San Diego doing homeless ministry with InterVarsity; we passed out PB&J sandwiches, turkey and cheese sandwiches, and water. After all the food and water was gone, I had the opportunity to talk to these two guys who seemed to want the company more than they wanted our food. As I eavesdropped the testimony of Mike, the guy who was so filled with the joy of the Lord, who trusted God with everything, and was rewarded by (God's grace) having the chance to reconnect with his daughter in Philadelphia after 18 years, through a family that took him in for a couple weeks. And as I journeyed through the life of Albert, who was a catholic who questioned his catholic faith, who wasn't cut out for college (ohio state), who found Jesus in a drug house, and who turned away from drugs by spending a weeklong retreat at a motel with the gideon Bible. Two men, getting serious for the Lord, in the streets of San Diego scraping by through the provision of the Lord.
It broke my heart, seeing these two solid men who've made a few mistakes in their life on the street. These guys have more heart than half the people I know (myself included), and still they are the ones on the street. Obviously God put them there because He knew they could handle it, but it still does seem quite a bit unfair.
Aside from all this whining or whatever it is, God reminded me about something that I've long forgotten. He showed me the beauty of being content with the life that God gave us. Not to be mistaken for being complacent in where we stand in our spiritual lives, but rather satisfied with the abilities, the people, and the things He has graciously and mercifully provided for us. And not just to be satisfied but to also make the most of that which He's given us.
The story doesn't end there, there's quite a bit of a nice ending to out meeting with these guys. The family that took in Mike bought him a round trip ticket to see his daughter and 2 year old granddaughter in Philadelphia. And Albert is taking classes at a school in downtown San Diego to build his own website to start up a business. Two men searching for God, with two different stories, ended up in the same place to bless us on this cold winter night.
IV does this twice a year (or twice a quarter I forget), but I think I'm willing to do this every couple weeks if anyone in SD is down. Make a couple sandwiches, buy a case of water, and just bring down a heart of love.
"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
-James 2:14-17
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