U-turns and Videos

Didn't finish this on Thursday, but thought you'd still like to read it:

I'm sitting next to Jonny in his bed cuz he's having trouble sleeping w/ this vicious cold. Poor guy's got a terrible fever, an infection in his eye, and a nagging cough that won't let him rest. Ugh. Hannah is finally back in school today, perhaps a day premature, but I know she enjoyed getting out of the house after three days in her pajamas. I did, too. In fact, our little outing (driving to and from her school) is the subject of my post tonite.

Rewind slightly to Sunday's message and our small group discussion on Sunday afternoon...the question arose, what am I doing to add value where I'm at? A memorable quote, "people don't always remember what they were told about God's love, but they never forget what they experienced" begging the question, how am I an active agent of God's love to the people that surround me? As a small group, we discussed what we could do to meet the needs of others in our everyday circles. As people threw around some neat ideas about how we could help the elderly and the sick, I sat and thought about a guy who's recently taken up residence at the freeway exit on the way home from Hannah's school.

I didn't mention freeway guy to the group because it sounded cliché, and I didn't want to be held accountable to actually engage him. After all, what could I really do to help him? I hate giving my money when I feel like I’m funding an addiction. I could get the guy some food, except for the fact that I've got three small kids w/ me at all times and I'm not exactly comfortable with inviting strangers to hop in my car. Hmm. Sorry, Lord. Guess I’m not the one for that job.

Only I am, and I knew it. Ok, I’ll do it! Next time I see him, I’ll stop.

So, it was settled. Hannah was sick and didn’t go to school for 3 days, so giving the freeway guy some food wasn’t top on my mind, until Thursday afternoon when I started out to pick up Hannah. Out of nowhere I remembered my silent conversation with the Lord. Maybe he won’t be there, I hoped and my heart raced as I approached the intersection. Dang it! I saw him standing there, and I looked back in my rearview mirror at my two sleeping sons, wondering if their need for a good nap disqualified me from going through with my commitment.

My other objections were:
How to get the guy to a restaurant without inviting him into my car
What if the light is green and I can’t stop long enough to talk
What if he cusses a lot in front of the kids
What if the kids are really cranky from their interrupted naps
What if he’s high
What if it takes a long time

Serving the Lord isn’t always convenient, I thought to myself. I’ll just have to see what the Lord has planned. I got Hannah and briefly told her what I’d planned to do. The freeway intersection was fast approaching. Aha! Red light! Two cars stop in front of me landing me smack in front of the guy! Perfect! I roll down my window,
“Wanna catch a bite to eat?”
“No, thank you; I’m waiting for my girlfriend. But thank you anyway.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. But thanks anyway. I’ve just had some rough times and I’m trying to get home to Utah. But I don’t want to hold up traffic. Thanks, though.”
“You must be hungry. Are you sure I can’t get you something to eat?”
“That’s okay. Thank you.”

I drive away and think —was that it, Lord??? How will he know that it was You thinking of him? So quickly the idea pops into my head: Turn around and bring the food to him. Right! Okay! I can do that!

U-turn. Drive-thru. More u-turns and a freeway exit. Red light again! Yes!
I rolled down my window.
“Hey, I decided to bring the food to you! Here’s some for you and your girlfriend. I’ve been seeing you here lately and have been thinking of you a lot and praying for you.”
“I believe in prayer.”
“Me, too. What’s your name?”

“Matthew.”
“Well, Matthew, I’m going to keep praying for you. God wants more for you than this. He loves you and wants you to know it, so He sent me to you.”
“Thank you. And God bless you. Wow. Thank you so much.”
Green light.
“You’re very welcome. I’ll be seeing you.”
I don’t know Matthew’s story or if he really understands what I told him about God’s love for him, but you can bet that he won’t forget the lady who wouldn’t take no for an answer and brought him a burger because God told her to.

I shared this experience because it was a small victory for me to do something that I had imagined to be extremely inconvenient, when in reality, it was quite small and insignificant. I think God was proving to me that being about His business doesn’t always mean that I’ll have to devote hours of time to fulfill His plans. Sometimes it just means taking a few extra u-turns.

Peace. Out.

Caleb and Daddy reading "Goodnight Gorilla"Jonny likes to "move it, move it"