Needs someone to have faith in him...

It has been way to long since I have last wrote on here. There are a couple reasons: really busy with school, personal life, and lack of motivation to write or too busy. But I will say that the Lord has been just as busy in bringing the name of Christ to people even more to this amazing city. Jesus has a raging desire to release His love and compassion on us! So without any more of my words let me tell you what happened today!

I just broke my foot and feel so helpless. I can not buy groceries and shop by myself, I cannot drive: though I have a couple times, I am unable to carry my bowl of cereal or take my laundry down to the basement- but today I threw it in my backpack and downstairs I went. 20 minutes later I was finally back upstairs. I have taken two naps in the last two days and feel great.

I decided to crutch over to one of my favorite coffee shops, Namaste, and have a chai tea. I put my Bible in my back pocket and my journal in my pants and belt. I was planning on reading the book of Job, hence my injury and many other things that have happened in my life just in a weeks time. I got there and sat in my normal spot. The right hand corner of the deck. I got situated, elevated my foot and was just about to read when a guy came up and asked if he could use my cell. I thought here is a gruff guy that is going to walk away with my cell since I won't even be able to stand up before he would be far gone. Well I thought for a while and said yea sure. He made some calls and then we started talking. He told me that it was very nice that I trusted him to use my phone especially since I had a boot on and was on crutches. His name is Matt. He is a father of two, divorced, and has experienced much of life that thankfully you reading this and I writing this will never go through. He came to Minneapolis to do some work that did not work out and is now homeless. My heart sunk for this man. I could tell that he was clean because not only did we talk for three hours but I heard his whole story! I felt so blessed and honored that he told me about his whole life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. He was so open to me and that to me showed that he was real, not some guy that wanted to get some food or money. He was authentic and friendly. I told him about the Lord and how no matter what our past is, though we suffer the consequences, the Lord tells us to let them go and pursue His face. We continued to talk and the conversation had shifted from each another's stories to just plane old chat. I had just made a new friend. A friend that had no phone, no place to stay, no family, no one that believed in him. I felt so pulled to help him out more than just the chai tea that I had bought him.

I have a three seasons porch on my house and can lock the door so I decided to tell him that he could stay in there at night so he did not have to worry about getting hurt or attacked which I guess happens a lot in homeless situations...who would have thought?!

I can not explain or even describe his face. He was so excited and was so thankful. He kept saying thank you brother. I also called my friend up and lined up a job for him.

NOW already someone told me that letting him stay is a very bad idea and I assure you that I have weighed the odds, but when does weighing the odds have to be chucked out of the door and moving in faith and some oddly degree of gut and trust need to take place. Who am I to say no to this guy? He needed someone to believe in him, just as the Lord does and to operate in loving him, would he be the present day leopard? or the present day adulterer? I do not know but I do know one thing, I want to follow the heart of Christ in this city and hence my desire to read Job: which is all about a man who loved the Lord with all his heart, finds everything he owned and children to be taken away, then his health, and later his whole life was in the dust...so I thought what is the most important aspect of my life...the Lord and relationships with others in that context. SO I have a homeless man living in my three seasons porch- but I would tell another person that I have a new friend named Matt, who is a friendly and happy man that cherious' the small things in life. The Lord is moving in this city and I pray I can follow even if it sounds like something very different. Jesus was on this earth for a short time and in His last three years He did many things out of the ordinary. Be Radical, Be the Change, Be Christ... soon this earth will be renewed and we will walk with Christ looking and aweing in His beautiful creation! But till then may we learn and begin to have and be part of glimpses of that to come!