I am not sure I have the right words to explain what happened at church today. I am incredibly emotional right now, so excuse my typos and rambling, but I hope this encourages someone else to not be afraid to reach out to the lost and lonely. A young man made his way to our church this morning. Not sure how he got there, but he did. He sat with his head down most of the time, but I could see the tears rolling down his face. He had all of his belongings in a travel bag under his chair. For some reason (well, the reason was God nudging me....that much I know for sure), I felt I needed to keep and eye on him. I kept checking throughout service to make sure he was still sitting there. We gathered around him and prayed for him during our prayer time towards the end of service (he had raised his hand when Hadley asked if anyone needed prayer). He sobbed while we prayed for him. His body was shaking from his sobs. As I went back to my seat, I plain as day knew God was telling me to go to this young man after service and not let him leave without talking to him. So I did. As soon as service was over, I went straight to him, sat down next to him where we talked and I learned of his plan. Alone, in the depths of despair, tired of the struggle and without hope, his plan was to slip out after church and end his life. 21 years old and ready to end his life that day. That hit home so hard this morning, after a friend lost her son two days ago to suicide. Never, ever ignore that inner voice when it tells you to move and go to someone. Get out of your comfort zone, friends. Reach out. Please. Let God use you. I am so thankful for the amazing and caring men that were at church after service had ended and who sat with this young man and talked to him with me. They encouraged him to not give up. We spent an hour talking with him and coming up with a plan by reaching out to resources we knew of. Weve secured him a spot in a discipleship program. He will be on his way to a new life within 24 hours over in East Texas. A life with hope, love, structure and safety, all centered around Christ. Need to find somewhere for him to sleep tonight. Hes been sleeping in fields and behind buildings. God will provide! Please pray for my new friend, T. That he will stay committed to the discipleship program and the opportunity to start a new life. Thank you to Hadley (Christie Dobbs Baker), Romeo (Jennifer Harry Lopez), Matt Stelter (House of Disciples) for being amazing men of God, and to my sweet cousins, Brian Shaggy Schwartz and Rachel Forkner-Schwartz who took Chad home for me so I could stay and help this young man. God is amazing. If you are not living a life centered around God, you are missing out.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:58:06 +0000
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