as i sit in my big white robe and pink fuzzy house shoes and unbrushed out of control hair from a night of incredible rest on the back porch of the wwgo faith house, secured in my little nook i have decorated with bright spring flowers and hummingbird feeders, i am quickly reminded what a miracle this is. i can see the vibrant green of the trees that surround us peeking over the roof of the hope house. i have a perfect view of the banner that hangs on the side of the fence around the love house with john 10:10 on it. i can hear friends walking down barksdale street and don't even have to look, i know who it is by their voice. once a house full of complete darkness, sin, filth, greed, you name it....it now is home to three of us single ladies that get to sleep peacefully in the presence of a restored mess. but the miracle i really see, is me. i don't understand how i got here, why jesus picked me, why he gave me another chance, how he loves me, but i know miracles make him smile, so i am just imagining him smiling at me right now, in my robe and slippers and crazy hair.
yesterday i ended up with 700 fried chicken tenders in the back of my truck. (thank you jeff redding for thinking of us). i have learned here that if god gives us something to share, he will give us the people to share it with.
the first two pans went to 809, the senior high rise on state street. a lot of our friends live there so we share things with them when we can. as i was dropping them off an ambulance pulled up because one of the residents had fallen and they were taking him to the hospital. in the middle of the chaos, the manager, whom i have never met, was very overwhelmed and just needed a hug. so we had a big hug in the driveway and a good prayer.
another pan went to the OC, our beloved opportunity center where lots of our friends hang out. it was about 9:00 by now and there were three people sitting outside. the first face i saw was renee. she has just gotten out of jail after being locked up for 6 months. i wish i could bottle up the smile that i saw on her face when she realized it was us. she is a completely different person sitting there than she was the last time i saw her. so full of hate and violence and hardness, she was sitting there so calm and meek, i was taken aback at how different her demeanor was. i am praying that whatever jesus did in her heart while she was sitting, it stays there. two other guys were there and there is a house across the street where several guys sleep behind so we left that pan to be divided up between them.
the last pan. wow. i had no idea jesus was going to use a pan of fried chicken tenders to wreck me on a thursday night at 10:00. we found ourselves in the parking lot of southside baptist church looking for our friend toxie. walking up to what he calls home, before he even came out of the tent, the holy spirit just sat right down. i can't even explain how the conversation went, but i know this - jesus was right in the middle of it. it was so real. it was so beautiful. it was one of the highlights of my life. laying hands and praying for what seemed like hours over our sweet friend, i am still begging jesus to never let me be the same after that.
what did jesus teach me yesterday? it's not about the 700 fried chicken tenders, it's about the manager at 809, it's about renee at the oc, it's about toxie in his tent. he just used the chicken to get me to them.
