Last night I had a great picnic on the lawn of St. Johns with a few girlfriends. We talked about dreams and passions we have. We reflected on the stress and burdens that seem to be hitting us and everyone around us. As night set in, we prayed. A little while later, 3 of us (myself included) were left to set up a “date night” on the docks in Annapolis. Missing an I-pod we thought it might be possible to convince one of the many random guitar players to go play some romantic music for the couple. Eventually we came upon this one guy who started to sing about us as we stood in front of him. Deciding that his music style wasn’t exactly romantic, we walked away.
Something told me to go back so I did. I mean maybe he could play something sweet and romantic. When my friends realized that I had actually entered into a conversation with this guy and probably wouldn’t walk away, they came back over to join me. Over the course of about 1.5 hrs of conversation we began to learn that the musician was actually very sick. The person that appeared drunk in person was actually rather philosophical…and extremely talented with the application of metaphor to allude to deep, profound things. Another thing that came out of our conversation was the reality that this man falls asleep every night not knowing if he will wake up the next day. Dealing with the advanced stages of Hepatitis, this guy described himself as being long past “his time”. He shared with us the reality of a divorce, disease, bad decisions, jail and watching people die. He proudly showed us pictures of his tomato plants and kept pointing our attention to a very simple picture that he had drawn on the sidewalk using chalk. As the three of us stood there talking to him, the Lord used our gifts in very different but very clear ways. The Truth of God was shared with him.
As we got ready to leave, the musician requested that we listen to a song. He sang about being lost and how we were sent to help him find his way (the fact that he had a compass tattooed on his arm brought even deeper meaning in my mind). In exchange for letting him smoke another cigarette, one of the girls asked if we could pray with him. We took turns praying…I went last and led him through an off-the-cuff version of the sinners’ prayer. I was feeling very heavy and cried over this man who didn’t believe he would be alive in the morning. As I looked up, tears were streaming down his face and he too began to pray. We said our goodbyes and encouraged him to come to a dinner that was happening the next evening. He left us with a very emotional exhortation to share what we shared with him with younger people. He also told us to pay attention the next time we see a sign for lost dogs…he thought it was very important that we didn’t just walk by, but rather took notice to those signs we see advertising a lost dog.
As we turned to walk away, I stopped and went back one more time. This time answering a question he had posed to me very early in our conversation: “what is your best memory?” I told him that my best memory was the day I realized I wasn’t alone, but that God was with me no matter what pain or hard time I faced. He looked at me with tears welling up yet again and said, “That was a very good day”.
I have no idea if this guy woke up this morning. I have no idea if he is living another day, waiting to die, but I know that God moved last night. A guy that we might have very easily overlooked (and almost did) carried with him the same heartache, confusion and pain that we (the girls) had spent the evening discussing – the difference was that he was facing the reality of death in a way that we never really consider…and he was facing it without the revelation of Christ. Where he stands today, I do not know…but I do know that the Truth landed on his heart and broke through…what God did with that man in the time following our interaction is between the guy and God.
His closing exhortation weighs heavily on my mind today. “Don’t just pass by signs for lost dogs…stop and pay attention”. We see these signs all over the place. Lost dogs. Lost cats. Owners frantically seeking out their lost pets…pets that are more like family members than they are mere animals. How many of those signs do we see? How many do we stop and actually read?
It’s the same with people you know. There are so many people that we pass by every day. So many are hurting far more than we could ever imagine. So many are lost and wanting to find their way. In Luke 15:4-7 Jesus shares this parable:
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent”
We are surrounded by those that are lost and so many of them God is looking to reach. We are the conduit through which He intends to reach them…if we are willing. Even still, how many times do we actually take the time to stop and pay attention? How often do we just walk on by?
As the man tearfully pleaded, “don’t just walk by signs for lost dogs…stop and take a minute to pay attention”. Don’t continue to walk through life, absorbed in your own little world. Take a moment to notice the lost around you…take a moment to pay attention. Don’t just walk by, stop and listen to their story. Take a minute to pray with/for them…you’d be amazed at the power of God working in the heart of a “lost child” he’s trying to welcome home.
“I will give you a new heart and will put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees…you will be my people and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:26-28)
