The book "Treasuring Grace" was inspired by a dream in
which co -author Tracy Roberts feels that God spoke to her and directed
her hand in the writing of the story. Many people feel God's special
influence in their lives in direct or indirect ways. This column seeks
to bring you some of their inspirational stories.
The below story is from a public forum post from experienceproject.com
The below story is from a public forum post from experienceproject.com
The back story is that my church and I went to a parking lot to
start witnessig to people.No one was interested in what we had to say.
It was getting late. We were getting weary. So my sister and I decided
to go a little further out from the parking lot, more towards a wooded
area to find some to talk to before we called it a day. Neither of us
were prepared for what we met. I actually wrote about the experience in
my journal. I've copied it here:
June 27, 2009
Today we met a man. He was homeless. We went over to where he was to give him a pamphlet. He was with two other people. A man and a woman. Both were sullen if not unresponsive.
His demeanor was bitter, argumentative, unpleasant. I remember I asked him if he wanted us to pray for him and he was like, "No, do you want me to pray for you?" He was very caustic. We argued back and forth for a good 15 minutes.
He then started recounting what a regular day for him was like. He lived in the woods. He had no job because he threw his back out doing construction and wasn't able to take care of himself. He came to the parking lot to pick up some clothes left in boxes outside the thrift store because he refused to steal. He carried a Bible with him in his backpack. He carried it wherever he went. He claimed to be a christian. He was just feeling discouraged because of his situation.
When his other two companions left, he began to recount his life. His brother, Darrell recently passed. He was 48. He had colon cancer and he bled to death. He got really emotional when he talked about this.
It really hurt me to see him like this. I swear, if I had any money with me that day, I would have given him all of it. But I didn't. And it crushed me when he spat back "I'm hungry! I can't eat a pamphlet." I remembered how Jesus said we should feed the hungry instead of preaching to them. That's exactly what I was doing! Preaching instead of feeding. So, it's no wonder I was feeling a plenty defeated. And so was Zoe. Tears were falling down her eyes and she never cries! We felt that bad.
Suddenly his demeanor changed. A complete 180. From bitter and belligerent to calm and peaceful. His eyes became so blue, so clear, so...genuine. Like he was actually letting us in. He then told us we were "beautiful people" and the "world needs us here" and "we're really kind people". He mentioned alot of things. How we should never let go of Jesus. No matter what. If anything, he started preaching to us!
Zoe thinks he was an angel incarnate. Here's why. When we first asked him if he wanted a pamphlet he answered "No, I want some food. Can you give me that? I can't eat a pamphlet." But when the woman came with a box of food, he only ate a half of one and then offered some to us. Another thing was his eyes. They were sooo blue. The clearest, purest bluest blue you can ever imagine. They were kind, genuine eyes! I already love him. He was a kind nice man. He showed us love. He didn't judge us. He apologized over and over for sounding condemning when we first talked to him.
I'll pray for Mr. Wright. He's awesome.
The end.
(for original post go to: http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Have-Seen-Angels/816052)
image:
June 27, 2009
Today we met a man. He was homeless. We went over to where he was to give him a pamphlet. He was with two other people. A man and a woman. Both were sullen if not unresponsive.
His demeanor was bitter, argumentative, unpleasant. I remember I asked him if he wanted us to pray for him and he was like, "No, do you want me to pray for you?" He was very caustic. We argued back and forth for a good 15 minutes.
He then started recounting what a regular day for him was like. He lived in the woods. He had no job because he threw his back out doing construction and wasn't able to take care of himself. He came to the parking lot to pick up some clothes left in boxes outside the thrift store because he refused to steal. He carried a Bible with him in his backpack. He carried it wherever he went. He claimed to be a christian. He was just feeling discouraged because of his situation.
When his other two companions left, he began to recount his life. His brother, Darrell recently passed. He was 48. He had colon cancer and he bled to death. He got really emotional when he talked about this.
It really hurt me to see him like this. I swear, if I had any money with me that day, I would have given him all of it. But I didn't. And it crushed me when he spat back "I'm hungry! I can't eat a pamphlet." I remembered how Jesus said we should feed the hungry instead of preaching to them. That's exactly what I was doing! Preaching instead of feeding. So, it's no wonder I was feeling a plenty defeated. And so was Zoe. Tears were falling down her eyes and she never cries! We felt that bad.
Suddenly his demeanor changed. A complete 180. From bitter and belligerent to calm and peaceful. His eyes became so blue, so clear, so...genuine. Like he was actually letting us in. He then told us we were "beautiful people" and the "world needs us here" and "we're really kind people". He mentioned alot of things. How we should never let go of Jesus. No matter what. If anything, he started preaching to us!
Zoe thinks he was an angel incarnate. Here's why. When we first asked him if he wanted a pamphlet he answered "No, I want some food. Can you give me that? I can't eat a pamphlet." But when the woman came with a box of food, he only ate a half of one and then offered some to us. Another thing was his eyes. They were sooo blue. The clearest, purest bluest blue you can ever imagine. They were kind, genuine eyes! I already love him. He was a kind nice man. He showed us love. He didn't judge us. He apologized over and over for sounding condemning when we first talked to him.
I'll pray for Mr. Wright. He's awesome.
The end.
(for original post go to: http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Have-Seen-Angels/816052)
image:
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Some rights reserved by San Diego Shooter
I used to do that when I was a new Christian, but I find it off putting. People do not really want to be preached to. I found it better to send a tract in a letter. Or in a birthday card or something like that. I can relate to the homeless mans fealings, I think feeding them is preaching more eloquently than any tract. Its a pity more pastors or church elders could not find the homeless and bring them into the congregation with a promice of a meal after.Maybe even offer a place to sleep. Its a touchy thing because then you are liable for anything that happens. In todays world nothing is simple.
ReplyDeleteJanice
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I appreciate your thoughts and for bringing your point of view to the story.
DeleteTreasuring Grace..
That's a great story. Happily, I think a lot of churches are starting to realize the quickest way to bring people to Christ is to meet their physical needs first. Thank you for a great post!
ReplyDelete~Julie www.faceinthebible.blogspot.com
Thanks Julie for stopping by and commenting. I am glad you enjoyed the story.
Delete