According to Tom Cochrane life is more like a highway; a place that is most likely void of roses. Fortunately for me this morning, the keys to my car are locked in my trunk, which isn't a metaphor for anything. This is much more literal. So, my highway-esque life has been temporarily slowed down enough to actually begin the process of digesting a few things I've experienced lately.
Since taking a new job in late March, it's taken a full-time commitment of my "off-time" just to inventory some of the things I've been seeing on a daily basis that keep me asking the question of God-- "Where are you?"
I'm not jaded or cynical enough to believe the Lord of Heaven and earth is some how neglecting his duties, or worse perpetrating the injustices of the world, but I do wonder how much of this mess I am able to help clean up.
It took me a few years to clean up my own mess, and the fact that I'm still here testifies to what a fortunate fool I really am.
Now I've entered a time and place in my life where that experience can benefit others having similar troubles, or at least I can listen to their problem without being judgmental; instead I am partial to re-focus a person's attention on solving an issue instead of dwelling on it.
A young lady, we'll call her Nikki, has crossed my job-path in the last few months who lost her very young child to death nearly three years ago.
Her grief is so great that she cannot stomach the thought of having a life that bares any resemblance to what it once was. Subsequently her marriage failed and a stint in a psychiatric hospital followed.
A string of jobs and other failed relationships dots the broken line in a life full of jumbled memories all trying to cope with pain.
Her latest failed romance resulted in her being booted out of her house, which left her living in her car the last week or so. It was at this point that I became aware of Nikki's story and looked to do my level best to help.
These gut-wrenching circumstances are things for which I have absolutely no answers, but finding her a safe place to sleep at night was a start. Though only a small act in its own right, because the love of Christ that is evidenced in it, never underestimate the value of seemingly small things.
For her, a stranger taking even the slightest interest in her life was a foundation to start hoping again. It was a reason to begin to reach out to others, starting with trust. It was an in-road for grace to pour into her life so that she can start a journey toward healing and a life that she wants to live.
I'm excited to see where Nikki's journey goes, and I know my small part was little more than pointing her back to a road that's going somewhere good. It will be her decision and Christ's love that drives the bus.
There's someone who needs your help today, and no one but you will be able to provide it. Go find them!
What a powerful reminder of who and what are really out there in the world -- and what our part can be in God's plan. Thanks for this.
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