4:26 a.m. - Thursday, Mar. 16, 2006
Four Eh Em.
It's four a m and I have nothing better to do than wait till I get tired again. I got to sleep okay, but then somewhere around three my body decided to be fully completely awake. Ordinarily, I'd be in a horrible rage of "WHY CAN'T I EFFING GET TO SLEEP!!!" but I'm riding this one out with a good book and a long overdue journal entry. Perhaps better than the rage approach.
So.... something deep and/or meaningful to write about... let's see.....
What have I seen in the last day or two?
"Mel" showed up at my door the other night. Probably about once every other month or so, sometimes more, a random person-in-need will just show up at the church. By God's grace and/or providence, I'm usually the one that's here. I kind of like that. Sometimes I'm faced with the frustration of not being able to help them in the manner that they hoped ("I'm so sorry, but we don't have the facilities here. There's the Gospel Mission and the Shelter down at Ninth and D?"), but I get a bit of a rush from it. I'm somehow excited that my work has come to me. Usually even if I can't provide them with a place to stay, the person is appreciative of a food box and a listening ear.
Mel just needed a friend.
I'm careful when I write about things like this, because it can make me sound saintly, and I'm not. So bear with me and remember that I cuss a lot and I'm judgmental and don't forgive people easily enough.
Anyhoo, Mel just needed a friend.
I got to sit and listen to him pour his heart out as he ate a small bag of Baked Doritos from our kitchen. Mel needed to hear that Jesus was not very upset with him for stealing some food at the Flying J that morning, and he needed to hear that he was not alone. More than that, he needed to be shown that Jesus wasn't mad at him for stealing food by having someone give him a free bag full of cookies, chips and fruit snacks. He needed to see that Jesus was with him no matter what by having a stranger give him a blanket and a couple pillows.
Tonight I've got insomnia, Mel is sleeping in his car, and Jesus is with both of us.
