I received a response to one of my blogs this week. It came anonymously from someone I obviously do not know. It was a rather lengthy response, but one thing stood out to me. It was the following statement – "Investment in someone cannot stop at the end of the soup ladle." Often times, maybe, it would be easy for me to show up on our corner and do our thing and leave thinking we’ve done God’s work and now let’s go back to our nice comfortable suburban home. But the Lord continually reminds me otherwise. As we’ve become entangled in some of the lives of the people we’ve met in this endeavor, I’ve realized that sometimes, even though I might try to live separate lives, God will have none of it. It often seems if we make any sort of investment in the lives of others, well, it makes it extremely difficult to ignore the difficult situations our friends find themselves in.
Here are a few examples of what some investments have come to look like for us lately.
We received a call on Thursday night from someone informing us some bad news. One of the fellows we met downtown, I believe on our very first venture into this community, learned this week that his mother had died in San Diego. Now this guy is a fellow that I just really, really like a lot. Love definitely comes into play here. This is a fellow that was homeless when we first met him. He is indeed one of the hardest working gentlemen I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen a guy whose hands are more calloused, haggard and torn up than the hands of this guy. And he is full of energy, more so than probably anyone I’ve ever met. His nickname reflects that. And the one thing that he does for us when we gather downtown on Sundays is probably one of the most important things that he could do, at least for me from a father’s standpoint. He watches over our kids. It’s like God provided child care in this Church environment that springs up every Sunday. And our friend is the director of the children’s ministry. :) Now some might argue that this a "Church" environment. Whatever. I guess for me it means that whenever we gather in the presence of our Almighty God and worship in His name, well, I don’t know that it matters what we call it. Let’s just call it good. So this fellow is like the pied piper when it comes to the kids. Erin absolutely loves him. Calls him her very best friend downtown. And I agree. As I talked to him today, he spoke of his best friend. His mother. She was 92. And she’s gone now. He was most definitely hurting today. Eyes watering. Voice wavering. Erin and Abby put together a gift bag for him today. He was overwhelmed. He’s just one of the nice guys. No alcohol problems. Has his own place now. Works every day. Hard. And he made a statement to someone once. I’ll dispute the wording of his statement, but he essentially said that he is where he is today because of the people that show up on that corner. Now that is pretty absurd to me, because he is obviously where he is today because of God’s Grace. But if God were to work through us and this is what he sees, then so be it. All I ever want to be to our friends is a light. An undeniable blast of light that God uses to do His work. So he found out this week that his mother passed away. He was going to go visit with her and obviously never made it. I pray that he finds the peace and grace of God through this difficult life circumstance. He’s a great fellow and I pray that our investment never stops at the end of the soup ladle with him.
Last week, Robin came home with a carload of baby stuff. You know, a car seat, baby clothes, diapers, everything you’d need to bring a baby home from the hospital. Not for us. Not yet anyway. But a family we met on that corner a while back who are in the middle of life’s circumstances, were in the hospital having a baby. Robin, as she is so apt to do, went overboard with compassion and got all this great stuff to help them in their transition. Like I said, we met them a long time ago on that corner and they are just a family trying to make it on life’s terms. Job difficulties and just general tough circumstances probably threaten this family at most corners. But maybe not so on our corner. Because God clearly placed us in each other’s paths. Clearly. So we got word his week that they were in the hospital having their baby. Except there was a problem. The baby was premature. Now I don’t know all the details, but there were problems. Medical issues. And every time I pulled into our garage and saw the corner filled with stuff for this new baby, I wondered when it would get delivered. Literally and figuratively. Then we got word that the baby probably wasn’t going to make it. They were faced with the difficulty of making far different plans than they’d previously expected. I cannot for one minute imagine what that must feel like. We’ve been so blessed with 3 beautiful, healthy children. I cannot imagine the pain and anguish they must be feeling right now. I pray that they too find peace and some sort of contentment through this all. And I guarantee that our investment will not stop at the end of a soup ladle. And I’m so thankful that my beautiful wife has been so blessed with the single most compassionate heart that I’ve ever known. God surely knew what He was doing when He placed her in the path of this family. I’m amazed at how it all works. Because we can be nothing more than a shoulder or ear to these folks, but sometimes? That’s all a person needs in these types of situations.
And finally, Christian and I spent a few hours last Saturday helping a family get a few pieces of furniture. Now it may seem fairly mundane to some, but to the person on the receiving end, it would seem bigger than that I think. This family, as we know them consists of a "Mom", and a couple of children. Truth be known, I think Mom is actually grandma. We first met them where? You guessed it. On a downtown street corner. They weren’t regulars and I’m not even sure I remember how they found out about us. Or maybe, just maybe they had a little Direction? :) So over the course of the last 4 or 5 months, they’ve been able to move from living in their car, to living in a real house. Now it’s not a palace by any stretch, or maybe it is to them? But it is a house with all the amenities. So Christian and I drove to Glenwood, Iowa last weekend to pickup a bed, a loveseat and a few other things. The couple who were giving us the furniture is another story for another day. But let’s just say that God put them in our path and they are an amazing couple. Just amazing! So we picked up the furniture and delivered it to Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Overall, it was about a 60 mile roundtrip. Great windshield time for Christian and I, and this family was blessed with a few more pieces to the puzzle. She gave me a letter before we left. It was just an expression of thanks and gratitude for all the help she’s received from God, through those who have chosen (or God has chosen) to help out in this thing called Starfish. The letter just explained how thankful she was that God was watching over her. It was a reminder to me, as I often need, that sometimes when a seed is planted, we never know what may grow. And her faith was seemingly strengthened by a few acts of kindness. I don’t even know if she saw the soup ladle on that Sunday we met her. But the investment cannot end when the soup hits the bottom of the cup. That I know. Thank God.
And now finally, for real. We almost had our first fight today. And this one involved several people. Not sure how close we really were, or if it was just a bunch of testosterone. Looked like things might have gotten out of hand fairly quickly. My man O‘Malley almost came out of retirement today. It was a crazy few minutes that’s for sure. And on Easter Sunday of all days. I know that when evil senses God’s work happening, he wants none of it. But today? Well, there’d be no fighting on Resurrection Day. Apparently God saw to that. Because after a few different flare ups, in a few different hot spots, cooler heads prevailed.
So I’m a little wordy today. This day and time of the year that we are reminded of the investment that the Lord made for us. The sacrifice that He made when the curtain was torn and we were once and for all able to enter into the presence of God. What an amazing God we serve. I am in awe of His presence in my family’s lives and at what He’s done on a simple street corner in little old downtown Omaha, Nebraska. I pray that I never lose sight of investments in lives. And I pray that someday our investment can be full time. 24/7.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. ~Gal. 5:6
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5 NIV
Peace, have a great and blessed week and make a difference.
…it matters to that one… :)
Here are a few examples of what some investments have come to look like for us lately.
We received a call on Thursday night from someone informing us some bad news. One of the fellows we met downtown, I believe on our very first venture into this community, learned this week that his mother had died in San Diego. Now this guy is a fellow that I just really, really like a lot. Love definitely comes into play here. This is a fellow that was homeless when we first met him. He is indeed one of the hardest working gentlemen I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen a guy whose hands are more calloused, haggard and torn up than the hands of this guy. And he is full of energy, more so than probably anyone I’ve ever met. His nickname reflects that. And the one thing that he does for us when we gather downtown on Sundays is probably one of the most important things that he could do, at least for me from a father’s standpoint. He watches over our kids. It’s like God provided child care in this Church environment that springs up every Sunday. And our friend is the director of the children’s ministry. :) Now some might argue that this a "Church" environment. Whatever. I guess for me it means that whenever we gather in the presence of our Almighty God and worship in His name, well, I don’t know that it matters what we call it. Let’s just call it good. So this fellow is like the pied piper when it comes to the kids. Erin absolutely loves him. Calls him her very best friend downtown. And I agree. As I talked to him today, he spoke of his best friend. His mother. She was 92. And she’s gone now. He was most definitely hurting today. Eyes watering. Voice wavering. Erin and Abby put together a gift bag for him today. He was overwhelmed. He’s just one of the nice guys. No alcohol problems. Has his own place now. Works every day. Hard. And he made a statement to someone once. I’ll dispute the wording of his statement, but he essentially said that he is where he is today because of the people that show up on that corner. Now that is pretty absurd to me, because he is obviously where he is today because of God’s Grace. But if God were to work through us and this is what he sees, then so be it. All I ever want to be to our friends is a light. An undeniable blast of light that God uses to do His work. So he found out this week that his mother passed away. He was going to go visit with her and obviously never made it. I pray that he finds the peace and grace of God through this difficult life circumstance. He’s a great fellow and I pray that our investment never stops at the end of the soup ladle with him.
Last week, Robin came home with a carload of baby stuff. You know, a car seat, baby clothes, diapers, everything you’d need to bring a baby home from the hospital. Not for us. Not yet anyway. But a family we met on that corner a while back who are in the middle of life’s circumstances, were in the hospital having a baby. Robin, as she is so apt to do, went overboard with compassion and got all this great stuff to help them in their transition. Like I said, we met them a long time ago on that corner and they are just a family trying to make it on life’s terms. Job difficulties and just general tough circumstances probably threaten this family at most corners. But maybe not so on our corner. Because God clearly placed us in each other’s paths. Clearly. So we got word his week that they were in the hospital having their baby. Except there was a problem. The baby was premature. Now I don’t know all the details, but there were problems. Medical issues. And every time I pulled into our garage and saw the corner filled with stuff for this new baby, I wondered when it would get delivered. Literally and figuratively. Then we got word that the baby probably wasn’t going to make it. They were faced with the difficulty of making far different plans than they’d previously expected. I cannot for one minute imagine what that must feel like. We’ve been so blessed with 3 beautiful, healthy children. I cannot imagine the pain and anguish they must be feeling right now. I pray that they too find peace and some sort of contentment through this all. And I guarantee that our investment will not stop at the end of a soup ladle. And I’m so thankful that my beautiful wife has been so blessed with the single most compassionate heart that I’ve ever known. God surely knew what He was doing when He placed her in the path of this family. I’m amazed at how it all works. Because we can be nothing more than a shoulder or ear to these folks, but sometimes? That’s all a person needs in these types of situations.
And finally, Christian and I spent a few hours last Saturday helping a family get a few pieces of furniture. Now it may seem fairly mundane to some, but to the person on the receiving end, it would seem bigger than that I think. This family, as we know them consists of a "Mom", and a couple of children. Truth be known, I think Mom is actually grandma. We first met them where? You guessed it. On a downtown street corner. They weren’t regulars and I’m not even sure I remember how they found out about us. Or maybe, just maybe they had a little Direction? :) So over the course of the last 4 or 5 months, they’ve been able to move from living in their car, to living in a real house. Now it’s not a palace by any stretch, or maybe it is to them? But it is a house with all the amenities. So Christian and I drove to Glenwood, Iowa last weekend to pickup a bed, a loveseat and a few other things. The couple who were giving us the furniture is another story for another day. But let’s just say that God put them in our path and they are an amazing couple. Just amazing! So we picked up the furniture and delivered it to Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Overall, it was about a 60 mile roundtrip. Great windshield time for Christian and I, and this family was blessed with a few more pieces to the puzzle. She gave me a letter before we left. It was just an expression of thanks and gratitude for all the help she’s received from God, through those who have chosen (or God has chosen) to help out in this thing called Starfish. The letter just explained how thankful she was that God was watching over her. It was a reminder to me, as I often need, that sometimes when a seed is planted, we never know what may grow. And her faith was seemingly strengthened by a few acts of kindness. I don’t even know if she saw the soup ladle on that Sunday we met her. But the investment cannot end when the soup hits the bottom of the cup. That I know. Thank God.
And now finally, for real. We almost had our first fight today. And this one involved several people. Not sure how close we really were, or if it was just a bunch of testosterone. Looked like things might have gotten out of hand fairly quickly. My man O‘Malley almost came out of retirement today. It was a crazy few minutes that’s for sure. And on Easter Sunday of all days. I know that when evil senses God’s work happening, he wants none of it. But today? Well, there’d be no fighting on Resurrection Day. Apparently God saw to that. Because after a few different flare ups, in a few different hot spots, cooler heads prevailed.
So I’m a little wordy today. This day and time of the year that we are reminded of the investment that the Lord made for us. The sacrifice that He made when the curtain was torn and we were once and for all able to enter into the presence of God. What an amazing God we serve. I am in awe of His presence in my family’s lives and at what He’s done on a simple street corner in little old downtown Omaha, Nebraska. I pray that I never lose sight of investments in lives. And I pray that someday our investment can be full time. 24/7.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. ~Gal. 5:6
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5 NIV
Peace, have a great and blessed week and make a difference.
…it matters to that one… :)
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