Love on the Lost

So my last public prayer was, Lord, burden me.  Be warned: don't pray that prayer unless you mean it!  Trust me, He will cause your heart to be broken. 

Last night I worked with All J's Catering at an event in Seneca.  It went off without a hitch, but there was TONS of food left over.  I knew they donated to the homeless shelter sometimes, so I offered to take the food over to Our Daily Rest.  When I got out of my car I walked up to the "Women's Entrance" door and was met by a girl around my same age.  It was dark out so I was unable to see her face clearly, but as she explained to me how to open the door, my heart broke. 

I remember being that girl.  It was not even a year ago that I was in her position.  The dorm room at Charleston Southern was the only place I could call home.  If it wasn't for the grace of the housing department understanding that, I would have been expelled for my bad grades and not showing up for class.  Those leaders helped me. 

I want to explain for a moment what being homeless is like. 

Being homeless is having your world collapse around you.  It feels like your stuck under ten tons of weight and you can't get up.  You feel like you'll never be able to get out.  You don't want to accept this is your life, scrounging around, never having money, drugs, sex, whatever it may be, but you can't seem to get your head above water.  The world around you (which often times includes family and formerly close friends) looks down on you because you're not "working to get out of your current situation", but little do they know how hard it is to survive. 

I used to have people tell me, well if you'd just get a job you could get out of the life you're living.  First of all, ever heard the expression, "you gotta have money to make money"?  Well in a sense its very true.  Those of us who work, think about it this way...every morning before heading to work, what do you do?  Most of us would say, eat breakfast, take a shower, brush my teeth, pick out my clothes, do hair and makeup, then get in my fuel-efficient car, and drive to work.  When you're homeless (truly homeless...not in a shelter...but out on the street or living in your car) eating breakfast generally doesn't happen, taking a shower, brushing teeth, hair and makeup is a joke, and you would probably be picking dirt off your clothes.  Most homeless people don't have a car and those who do don't have the gas to put in one. 

So what I'm saying is, how do we expect people without showers and such to be able to get a job?  From personal experience, having a job (therefore making money) is the only way to physically get you off the streets, but it doesn't heal the wounds of whatever PUT you there. 

We often watch commercials of children overseas who are struggling to survive.  It breaks my heart, and I hate it for those children.  No one wants to see that.  But we are forgetting about our own people.  There are people in our community who are broken and discouraged.  They feel like they are never going to be able to get out.  Maybe what they've tried has failed, only to leave them more disheartened than ever before.  Personally, I fell deeply into depression, and announced publicly yesterday on my facebook that if it was not for JESUS CHRIST intervening in my life, I would have died and gone to hell.  But in those years, those moments, I felt like being successful was impossible, and I lost the drive to try.

As I handed plates of food to these people, "my people", people of our community, I ended up giving up the dinner plates I had made for myself.  I say that not so anyone will praise me for doing good, but to tell you how blessed I felt in doing so.  God humbled me last night and reminded me that I was THAT GIRL!  I lived in homeless shelter down state.  I've slept in my car.  I've hungered for food.  I gave them my food because God has blessed me with the money to provide for myself.  That mac & cheese was a blessing to them.  Knowing that they had dinner or lunch tomorrow was a blessing.  And in turn, God burdened my heart.

On my way home all I could think about was that girl.  I just wanted to run back and hug her and tell her I know who can get her out of this life she's living; she'll never be hungry or thirsty again.  As I laid in my bed, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking, why am I sleeping in a nice warm bed?  I dreamt about some of the struggles I went through when I was sleeping in my car or doing my best to bathe in a rest stop bathroom.  I woke up this morning and thought about how truly hard it was to break that cycle I was in.  I talked on the phone with a friend this morning and began to cry at the realization that less than a year ago I WAS THAT GIRL!  Then I started to think about what it was that brought me out and the only explanation I have is My Father God and His Son Jesus Christ.  When I was completely down and out, I cried out to Him, and He provided.

Matthew 25:31-36 

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

This passage took on an entirely new meaning this morning.  As I said on my facebook status, it is time for us as Christ-followers to rise up, reach out, and touch the hurting around us.  We have the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  There are those in our community that are hungry and thirsty, they are in prison, they are beaten down and broken apart.  We need to allow God, ask God, to set a fire within our spirits.  Pray for brokenness over the souls of the lost.  Pray for the opportunity to share His love with those around you.  We all can recognize those around us who need help.  Maybe they are paying with all change in the grocery store or asking for 5 dollars so they can put gas in their car to go home.  Maybe its that one kid that comes to church, but never eats... load up a group of them and head to McDonald's.  Be Jesus to those around you, and love on the lost.