Pretty Eyes!

So guess who has a "street name"? Go ahead, take a guess?

I was talking to my friend John yesterday and he looked good. John is an avid outdoorsman. Not necessarily by choice. But, he lives on the streets. Lived under a bridge for a while, until the department of roads decided it was time for him to move on. Now? Wherever he can put a stake in the ground. John had a bit of a rough week. I suppose it can get that way. Someone blew into John's camp last week. Left in worse shape than John apparently. I happened to see him around Tuesday or Wednesday last week in the downtown area. The incident happened the night before. I don't know the details, and I'm not sure they really matter. The point is someone came into his camp and started a little trouble with him. I imagine that neither one of the combatants were feeling much pain that evening. John came away with a busted eye and a few bumps and bruises. The other guy apparently got the worst end of the deal. So I saw John the morning after. Looked a little down. But he usually has that look in his eyes that tells you he'll be alright, whatever alright is in his world.

Yesterday, I chatted with John briefly. He looked much better. You have to really talk with John to get a real feel for the guy. I'm guessing he's in his 50's? Looks a little older, but I'm sure living on the streets can age a guy. If I remember correctly, John has been on the streets for many years. 15? 20? Somewhere in that area. He once told me he liked the street life. Said that he could sit on a downtown bench and watch all the busy people hustle and bustle from place to place and chuckle to himself. He knows where to get food, knows where to get the basic necessities of life. Another time, last winter, I saw him getting soup and pouring it into a jar. He did this about 3 or 4 times. Finally, I told him to just go up and have them fill up his jar! He was making me tired just watching him work his way through the line over and over! The next week? Robin brought him a thermos filled with soup. No need to work the line man! You are a veteran. We'll take care of you. I've mentioned before that there are certain people we gravitate towards at times. John is definitely one of those people. He certainly has a bundle of issues. Post traumatic stress disorder from a violent upbringing. Alcohol plays a big part in lots of his days. I imagine other vices creep into the picture also. It's that way sometimes for some of these great people.

As I chatted with John yesterday, he just seemed more upbeat. Had a twinkle in his eye. I talked to him recently and he wasn't doing too well. It was a couple of weeks ago, and I saw him at the library. He told me that he had been drinking for too many days. Said that normally, he goes 3 or 4 days and then takes about that many off. Not this time. He had been drinking a few too many days and was not feeling well. Now, he's pretty functional, so you can't really tell he's been at it too hard. Either that or it was earlier enough in the day that he was still in fair shape. That's not the point. The point is that Robin saw him around the same time and was really worried for him. She wrote a blog about that day and was really concerned for his well being.

Yesterday though, John was in a good, light hearted mood. As we shook hands, I could sense a good spirit about him. He was doing better. He said he was able to get some good clothing from the donation bins we brought down. We have been getting lots of clothing donations lately, so that end of things has been darn good. John asked if we could help him get a new belt. And he's not a guy who asks for much, so sure...no problem. Robin was able to grab him a belt from our good friends at Heart Ministry. Great people and man have they helped us out in so many ways. God really hooked us up there. So John smiled big and thanked us for the good "stuff" he was able to nab on Sunday.

One trait that I believe comes from living on the streets is the ability of these guys to figure people out pretty quickly. If you are about a bunch of bs, they'll be on to you pretty quickly. If they get the sense that you truly care, they pick up on that pretty quickly also. I only say that because when a guy like John tells me something about an individual, I usually listen. I'm guessing that his people senses are pretty sharp. Have to be to survive on the streets.

As we were talking, he leaned in and said the following... (I'll paraphrase, but it went something like this)..."Dave, you've got a street name you know?" Me? What is that John? "Well Dave, on the streets, you're known as Super Dave". Ha! Super Dave! Now that cracks me up. I hear something different every week. I'd heard this one before. When we first started going down, Bill (our friend from the office) mentioned that one to me. Said what we did was called Super Dave Sunday. Now that's a good one. Crazy. But what John said to me next was what made me stop and smile. He said "Dave, Robin has a street name also". I said oh really? What is that John? Rockin' Robin? Just kidding Robin. No, John leaned in a little closer yet and said "Robin's street name in Pretty Eyes". Yeah, that's right. Pretty Eyes. You can tell a lot about a person by their eyes. You see, people can see in Robin the genuine compassion and love of Christ. Pretty Eyes. Yep. That fits. Because, Robin is Pretty Eyes. And more. But that sums it up. Now, I don't know if John coined that one or not, but we are going to run with that one. And I'll tell you why. Robin has a compassionate heart for this ministry that knows no bounds. If I'm not careful, I'll come home someday and the basement of our house will be a homeless shelter. Wouldn't our suburban neighbors love that! :) Might just be a good thing. But the thing about Robin and this ministry? A match made in...you guessed it...heaven. Because there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that our Lord and Savior knew exactly what he was doing when he placed this thing in our lap.

As we were winding things up yesterday, in fact after everything was loaded and we were ready to go. I was chatting with a few of the stragglers who were hanging around the park and I saw Robin having what looked to be a pretty good conversation with Juan, Jody, Joe and Jay. Now Jay has the best smile of any guy you'll ever meet. As I joined the conversation, I realized that this was a conversation where Robin was able to share her love for Christ just as he would have us do. I mean, we always pray that God will give us the words if an opportunity arises. Well it arose. I just watched as Robin shared Matthew's gospel with those 4 great folks right there on the corner of 14th and Douglas. Juan whipped out his bible and it was on. But more importantly, God gave her just the right words to share with these guys and Jodie at just the right time. In His time. I often wonder where this thing is going. This Sunday church of which we are honored to be participants. I have always thought it was meant to be a marathon. We've been at it less than a year and it's been all good. So in marathon terminology, we're probably at mile marker 1, if that. God had so definitely shared this with us and has led us to form relationships that we otherwise would not have. It is so cool. And you know how after 6 or 7 months with new friends, sometimes you get to take that next step in the relationship and go a little deeper? Well, it seems that time might be now. And ol' Pretty Eyes is leading the pack! :) Yep, she's got a street name, compassion, love and she's so great in these situations. You'd think God had a plan?

Anyway, it was a good day. Lots of great people. Old faces, new faces...old friends, new friends. And now? Street names! What in the world will it be next?!

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

..."it matters to that one"... :)