JOURNAL ENTRY DAY 7: JUNE 22, 2007

Where the journey is the destination.

For me the Stand today took on a different meaning. This was the highlight of all the Stands we have done in the last few years. I wasn’t able to pass out fliers. I didn’t talk to anyone about why we were blindfolded or standing in front of Hustler. I didn’t even get to pray for purity or repent on behalf of the Church and America. I spent my time talking to one homeless man.

I met him at the last Stand and my heart had been moved ever since. Over the past year I have been able to talk with him on several occasions. My wife and I have bought clothes for him, brought him food and just tried to be an ear for him. But today was a different day.

Today my friend began to share his heart with me. He is a soft-spoken man, browned by the sun, and his soft blue eyes penetrate through you as he speaks his mind. He began to share his struggles and the reason he was on the streets. He told me of the frustrations and hurts he feels daily as people yell at him to get a job. He asked me if he could show me something and if we could walk down the street a little as to get away from everyone. We walked several paces away into a little cove. It was there where he showed me why he couldn’t work and why he could barely walk.

He took off his shoe to reveal a raveled and wholly sock. As he removed them to show me his barefoot, I saw a disfigured foot. His big toe bent completely to the left towards his other toes. He said some of us are out here because we are truly disabled.

He extends his hand to me and a grasp it. His hands are brittle and calloused. His right hand pointer finger has been completely removed because of cancer. He explains to me the different cancers he been diagnosed with and asks if I will pray. As I walked with him back to the corner I could feel compassion welling up inside me. God, can’t I do more than say a little prayer for this man.

After settling back in he discloses to me his weariness. “I’m tired of being out her, but where do I start.” He asked, “If you were me what would you do?” I have never been asked that by someone living on the street, and it really made me think. What would I do? Where would I go?

I asked if we could go ahead and pray with him now. As I began to pray tears welled up in his eyes. I was so broken by this one prayer time. After praying with him he looked at me and asked if he could hug me. In that moment I felt as if I was hugging Jesus. I could have held him in my arms. After this holy hug I looked at him and told him sincerely that I love him. He returned the remark with a wholehearted “I love you.’ In a single moment I touched heaven.

Please pray for my friend for complete restoration and healing. Justice and mercy walk hand and hand together. It is here where the journey is the destination. Don’t get so goal focused that you forget about what is around you and pass life by.

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