A Letter from a Stranger

A few months ago, one of the street people I know went to prison.  I didn't find out about it until he was there for a few months.  As soon as I found out, I wrote him a letter and then sent him a Bible.  A little time passed, and I didn't expect to receive any correspondence from the jail since it takes money to buy stationary and stamps from the commissary.  

Yesterday, when I came home, I saw a letter in our stack of mail from the Sheriff's office.  The letter was from a friend of the street person I know.  In painstakingly good handwriting, the friend asked for a Bible for himself.  

I was blown away.  I probably read the letter 100 times last night for a few reasons:

1) I have no idea how he got my address or last name (I didn't put either on the letter I sent to my homeless friend.  He has only ever called me by my first name).

2) There really is truth -- "Ask and you shall receive."  There was no way I could refuse to send this man a Bible.

3) I often feel like what I do for others isn't enough or isn't good enough.  I often feel like the actions I take are insignificant.  I often feel like I shouldn't bother when I see someone who looks like they need help because I internalize the action too much.  "What difference could I possibly make?"

The lesson for me today is that God works wonders through us all.  

I had been really down and sad lately because I felt like I am afraid to evangelize, that I'm afraid to talk about Jesus openly outside of my parish and church community.  Yet, this total stranger who asked me to help him to receive the Word of God has really touched me.  I am evangelizing, though it is through a different medium than I had originally imagined.

Jesus says that whoever gives a cup of cold water to someone in need does it for him.  The action doesn't need to be large, it just needs to be done in love.  

Please pray for my friend and his friend in prison.

Getting Caught Up

How easy it is to get caught up in situations and want nothing more then to vent, howl, moan, groan, wail, and curse at how horrible ________ situation is.  It's human nature, and I think we all do it.  I found myself in a situation like this today.  I thought I had everything all planned out, all worked out, and all mapped out regarding an ongoing "problem" I've been facing.  Everything was all neat and tidy.  It had been a struggle, but it was figured out.

In today's situation, it was regarding money.

Today I found out everything wasn't nearly as neat as what I thought, and the budget is blown over something completely out of my control.

Yes, I vented.

Yes, I moaned and groaned.

Yes, I am wailing inside.

"Why can't this all work out the way I thought it would work out?" I said inside my head.

This has been my mantra for the past year.  Why can't everything work out the way I thought it would work out?  Why does this have to be so hard?  URG.

Enter dramatic pause as I remember that I'm supposed to be reflecting on the big picture and not just this one facet of my existence in time.

"Oh yeah," I said to myself, "That's right.  I'm not the one who is supposed to have to work everything out.  I'm supposed to be trusting that everything will work out according to God plan."

And that's just it.  A big part of the journey is remembering to remember.  God created the heavens and the earth simply by willing them all into existence.  He'll help me with this problem.  It might not even be a problem in God's eyes.  It's probably just a way for me to learn to see reality through eyes of faith with God's help.

Now, I just need to chill out enough and calm down enough to sleep all night rather than obsess.

Did God maybe create chill pills on the 8th day?  I think my mom would tell me to take a proverbial chill pill and cool it.  I'll pray for one of those too.

I'm Still Here

I'm still here.  I haven't been writing lately due to a dear family member who was ill and in the hospital in December.  I needed to spend my time focusing on helping in the recuperation and rehabilitation but am grateful to say that the journey has been worth it, and my family member is very much looking to be able to return to the same quality of life he had before falling ill.

With God all things are possible.  He asks that we also do our part so that he can work through us, but it is through his grace, mercy, and strength that we can walk on the journey with him and toward him.

I will be actively writing on this blog again soon now that life is hopefully going to settle back into a time period in which I am able to be home and in front of my computer.