"Out of the darkness, He reached for a piece of clay..."
I started to choke up as I listened to the next few lines, detailing intimately how God has created man and recreated those He saves. The words came slowly but joyfully out of the mouth of a homeless man named Lyle. The words came to Lyle when he was out in the woods by his camp praising the Lord. He can barely write, but by God's grace was able to scribble the words down on a piece of paper. It was the second thing he has written in two years.
I have always had a passion for the homeless. Ever since I was young, they have been the people that God has really placed on my heart to go out of my way to love and care for, and recently I have been able to do just that. I have become involved with a homeless ministry called The Thankful Leper that is focused on caring for the homeless in downtown Des Moines, and helping in the work they have been doing has been a blessing.
Before I started volunteering, I always thought that I would be blessing the homeless. However, now I can see that is not exactly the case. I can give my time and possessions, but every time I have the fortune of being around these people, I walk away in tears, inspired and in awe of what God is doing in their lives. They truly bless me.
The passion and joy for the Lord among them is like nothing I have ever seen. Very rarely do you come into contact with people who tell you horror stories from their past just to have a smile chase the sadness of their face as they say, "But praise God, because He is great!" Their joyful hearts are in stark contrast with how bitter my heart can be, and that fact is brought to light and emblazoned into my brain every time I talk with them.
Although God has been using the homeless in Des Moines to convict me of a bitter, self-centered heart, He has also been convicting me of how selfish I can truly be. I constantly think "I need, I need, I need" when I have been supplied with more than plenty, more than enough to be radically generous, yet I rarely am. The people that The Thankful Leper helps to supply are more than grateful to have enough food to get by, or for a donated pair of boots.
When I met Lyle this afternoon, I knew that God was gently pointing out my own selfishness to me. I had donated a scarf that I had made, and although there was no way that Lyle could have seen me carrying the scarf, he walked right up to me and said, "If this scarf is the only thing I get today, I will be more than happy. I'm just happy to be here."
I almost started crying when he told me that. Generosity is something that God has been teaching me lately, and this was such a blunt lesson that there was no way I could write it off. God has also been working on my heart through His word. Right now, I'm reading through 1 John with the leadership team I'm on. 1 John 3:17-18 says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
I still have a long way to go, but day by day God is altering my bitter and selfish heart to look more and more like His, selfless and generous. The homeless people I have the joy of being around are most definitely a catalyst. To close this story, my statement for you is the same on that God has been telling me: "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
