You Are the Plan!

Yesterday was a long day. I say that because I fully plan to use it as the excuse for the doubts I mention later. If you’ve been keeping up with this blog or just me in general, you know that being involved with the homeless is something that has really impacted my life. I’m pretty passionate about it… and to some even a little pushy.

Last week I found out more about the Biscuit Ministry my church started a few years ago. I contacted a couple of folks about it and I was invited to join them this past Sunday. They meet at 6:45 AM. That’s AAAAAAAA. MMMMMMM. In my book that’s crazy early. I mean REALLY crazy early. I wanted to join them and I was enthusiastic about the opportunity but as Sunday approached I wasn’t sure I’d really be able to get out of bed. But, God took care of that because I woke up at 2 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I was the first person to arrive that morning at the church. I was there at 6:30. I’m glad God got me up because it turned out to be a great experience. It’s a little different from the other ministry I’m in but in some ways it’s the same. I guess really, it’s very much the same. They had 72 hot sausage biscuits to hand out and we drove around the city until they were gone. I was hoping we’d run into some of my friends down there. But, I didn’t see any of them. However, I did see one of the fellas I had met briefly once before. I mentioned him in an earlier post as the fella who could talk your ear off. It was nice to talk to him a little more. We ended our biscuit mission on the Southside of town where we all spent some time with the men that were there and when we left, we took 3 of them with us to church.

When we got back to church, I went and washed my hands and my face a little bit and then went back out to wait for the Worship Service to begin. I saw the three men from Southside sitting in the café area and so I went to talk to them and got to know them a little better.

I got home from church around 12:45. I ate a sandwich and laid down for a short nap. At 2:30 pm I was back at a different church ready to head downtown with the ministry I have been involved with these past few months. It was a super-hot day. I knew this because I was dripping with sweat. I could have used a nice breeze. It wasn’t until I got in the car and saw that the temperature read 100 degrees that I realized I had a very good reason to be sweating. Oh my gosh, it was hot. We fed 8 men under the overpass yesterday. I think perhaps more were fed with to-go plates as well but I’m not sure because I left the underpass to go directly to the airport to pick up my parents who were returning from vacation.

Where I began to have doubts seep in is from talking with a couple of the men. I really am a silly naïve girl. Yesterday, I think I just began to realize it. I really want to believe good things about people. Even so, I have always been pro boundaries but yesterday I saw a need for more boundaries with these men. I want them to know they matter to me but at the same time, I need a boundary. I need a boundary that will still let them know Jesus loves them but also with a healthy distance for myself. A couple of fellas yesterday asked me things that I don’t even discuss with close friends. To a normal person that wouldn’t be a big deal, but I’m not normal. I don’t mean I’m going to stop caring or going downtown or even that I will start avoiding people but I just need to figure it out because what I realized yesterday is that I don’t think the same way as some of these men do. I’m a feminist but I have to call it, I cannot be a friend to these men in the same way that another man can. We need more Godly men to step up for these men on the streets… actually the world needs Godly men and women to just step up in many situations.

On an encouraging note, the other thing I realized yesterday is how much I love being around the Godly people I have met through these ministries. Yesterday, I got to know a few more of them from going downtown with the biscuit ministry and it was great. There are high school and college age kids involved every week in these ministries. It’s inspiring to see them out loving people for the Lord. Being with other believers with a passion for serving the Lord is a blessing all on its own. It too, is changing me.

I heard Gary Haugen, who is one of my heros, say this week... God has given us the plan for the lost, for the hurting. We know what to do.
Micah 6:8 says

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

You are the plan!

Prayer requests for the week. 1) that I figure out the boundary thing. And 2) that next Sunday is cooler. We are leaving the Overpass for another location. It’s where the group met in the Winter and Spring. We had more people show up there, but there is no shade and it’s a parking lot. It’s hot even if it’s not hot. I am such a wimp when it comes to heat. I really am. Seriously!


And as a P.S., If you go to my church you should check out the Biscuit Ministry… And if you want to check out the other ministry I write about, let me know. You should check it out too.