The Little Things

A man without a home walked through our church doors. We greeted Jim (which is not his real name) and he said, “I am not looking for money or a handout I just need to talk with someone.” I guided Jim into my office and for the next hour listened to a story. His life story was full of hurt and instability. He explained that as someone without a home has to stay on the move. Shelters only welcome you for so many days or weeks then you have to move onto another shelter. He talked about nights in the woods on the ground being covered with red ants and how a shower was a blessing when the circumstances gifted him with facilities.

As we continued to talk he shared that he has many broken relationships because of addiction, and he was proud to share that he is now 2 years sober. Yet, many of the relationships are so broken his apology goes unanswered. He was getting to a point where he wanted to drink again and that is why he walked in the doors of the church. He walked in wanting to continue on the path of sobriety and in the midst of this he wanted to know where God was.

I was blessed to recap his story. Remember when you stole the chicken from the grocery store and the manger said, “We can’t put a man in jail for needing to eat?” Remember when you were in the woods covered with ants and something in your head said go to the Homeless Veterans Home? They greeted you with kindness and you found out that there is actually a pension in your name and they guided you on how to start receiving it. Remember when the bank said you couldn’t open an account to receive the pension payments and suddenly someone stepped in on your behalf and they waived the rule? You didn’t have the $10 to open the account, but there was a grocery store across the street and you were able to pan handle the $10 you needed to open your account. Remember when you walked in the doors of the church instead of picking up another drink?

He responded, “Yes, but why do I have to suffer?”

I responded, “I think Jesus would look at you and me and say to me, ‘Pastor Dana, Jim gets it. He knows why I had to suffer on the cross. Listen to his story.’”