Running on Empty…

Today seemed to one of the most controlled forms of chaos that I’ve been involved with in quite some time. Lots of people, cool breeze under the trees in the park, lots of people, old faces, lots of food and did I mention lots of people? It was cool to see old friends again. That’s certainly one of the things I’ve noticed since we began doing this thing. You may not see a guy for months and then he just shows up out of nowhere. Irish Joe was back today. Smilin’ Lyndon also. One of the happiest guys I’ve ever met. Been in Kansas City for a while, but he’s back now. Shawn was back. And Butch even showed up today. Very transient lifestyle for lots of our friends. Funny how that happens. It just dawns on me sometimes that I haven’t seen someone in weeks or months and they suddenly show up. Seemed like there was lots of that today. We didn’t get off the corner until 3:30. I felt pretty exhausted by the time we finally packed up and headed off down 13 Street towards home. But my tank wasn’t completely empty…

I saw our friend Tony today. Off in the corner of the park…by himself. Tony was a guy we helped get to Boston a couple of months ago. Only one problem. He didn’t go. Lined up a bus ticket and everything for Tony. He didn’t make it. If I were to venture a guess, I’d say that we’ve been able, by the grace of God, to help 10 or 15 people leave Omaha and get home or at least somewhere that meant maybe a new possibility. A new outlook or perhaps a new opportunity. Tony showed up one Sunday and asked for help. Needed a way to get to Boston. He clearly wasn’t from around here. But he has a couple of kids here and I believe that was the pull to keep him in Omaha. So we did our best to help him get to Boston. I’d guess that of the people that we’ve managed to get on a bus, only a couple have actually called to let us know that they made it. And that’s ok. I mean, it would be nice to know that guy made it to his destination in one piece, but it’s certainly not a condition of the deal The deal is unconditional. Guys lots of times tell us they’ll send us the money back as a form of repayment. I don’t think anyone has yet and that too is ok. It is what it is. Maybe one day they’ll be in a position to help someone out. Who knows? So a couple of weeks ago, Tony shows up as we are unloading the trailer and it’s the first time I’ve seen or heard from him since he supposedly boarded the bus to Boston. I was mildly agitated that he was still here. I’m not sure I had that right. But I was. So he apologized profusely and told me that he is still going, but he is just in a bad place and was just confused. So he shows up again today and I see him sitting off in the corner of the park alone. After we get everything set up and I manage to greet everyone in the line, Tony catches up to me and offers the following analogy. He says you know how a car starts running low on gas and eventually runs out? Well he’s running low spiritually and needs a little prayer to refill. So we talk for a bit and he attempts to explain what it is that’s keeping him here. His 2 boys. I can understand that. So he just says that he’s running on empty and can I pray for him. So we pray. A little bit away from all the hustle and bustle of the corner, we prayed. And then he said something to me that humbled me to the core. I won’t go into the detail of it, but it had to do with seeing Christ in what we do on that corner. And in me personally. And I have to tell you that it scares me. It’s a huge responsibility that I believe God has placed with us and to attempt to live up to that is something that frightens and humbles me at the same time. So hopefully I’ll see Tony again. But I pray that the Lord will get a hold of him and show him the way. Whether that be the way to Boston, Omaha or wherever. Just that he shows him the way. One thing he said after we prayed was the he felt about a quarter full. I laughed and told him to see me before he left and hopefully we could get him up to half a tank.

Lots of things happen every week and I really struggle trying to figure out which ones to record in this running journal. I could seriously write a book every week if I wasn’t such a poor typist! But one thing happened today that moved me in a strange way. A couple of weeks ago a lady shows up on our corner. Not homeless. Clearly. And she asks if there is a way that she can help. You see, she met one of our homeless friends on a corner about 5 miles west of where we meet on Sundays. He was probably trying to "earn" a little spending cash and I’m guessing she stopped and donated to his cause. If I got the story right, she thanked him and asked him for a prayer. Frank closes his eyes and says a few words and then says he’s not real good at that sort of thing and then invites her downtown and says that "those guys are better at it than me". Those guys obviously being us. Now we’ve known Frank since day one. Great guy. But he has a serious alcohol addiction. Not so unusual with some of our friends. But he invites her downtown and she comes and wants to help. And she came back again today. The thing about her is she has a real hardship in her family. Her husband was an avid runner. Until 3 years ago. He collapsed one day while on a run and now lives his life in a wheelchair. I can’t imagine. But she has such faith. As I talked with her and her son today, and her husband sat in his chair, seemingly oblivious to all the activity happening around him, I had to wonder exactly what his sense of recognition really was? Was he hearing the conversation that was taking place literally all around him? He didn’t seem to be aware at all. But a couple of times I did notice his head turn…sort of. I was standing almost in front of him and on at least a couple of different occasions, I noticed him look towards me. It was so odd. And we got an opportunity to pray with him for a few minutes. It was a powerful time and I can’t believe our friend Frank was responsible for the meeting. God does indeed have a sense of humor! Our homeless friends inviting people down to see us. The tables are definitely turning on us!

So today was definitely a great blessing. We didn’t leave the corner until almost 3:30. We spent quite a while after everyone had left talking with a couple of fellows who have been studying at Creighton University in what they called the Institute for Priestly Formation. If I understood them correctly, it is a program that assists in the spiritual formation of priests in the Roman Catholic Church. We spent quite a bit of time speaking with them and it was a great conversation. They’d heard about our activities from some of the guys in the park and came down today to see what it was all about. It’s always interesting to me when someone shows up and says they’ve heard about us from our friends. I often wonder what they think of us crazy suburbanites showing up every Sunday, trying to share a little of our faith with them. But not really. Because after hanging out with them for the past 20 months or so, it’s become pretty apparent that that the road goes both ways. Whenever I seem to be running on empty, I just show up down there and God most assuredly blesses me with a least a half tank or more. It’s all good.

And my friend ERG is one beautifully gifted individual. And of course I love him.

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Go out and make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)