Returning to the Streets of Jackson

12/30/10…As always, when I lay down my expectations and submit to God’s will, I am rarely let down by the results or even lack of because God does not seem to measure my results as much as my growth. Today as I wake up, I feel a little more energized, a little more encouraged, and a little more connected.

 

Last night, I saw each of them. A smile came across my face. They reached out to shake my hand, every one of them. No my brothers and sisters, our reunion deserves more in this journey we are on. I bear hugged each one of them and held on a little longer than normal protocol dictates and squeezed a little more than normal protocol dictates. With my hug, I wanted each of them to know how much I love them and their heart. I wanted to encourage.

Bridgett

Bob

Kristi

Bob F.

Michael

Malcolm

Gerry P.

 

These are the brothers and sisters God blessed me with in Jackson, Mississippi. They serve consistently and beyond the normal Wednesday outreach. Oh Father, thank you for them. Unknowingly, the impact they have had on me has taken me by surprise. Our friendships are on a different level and they are not in the classic sense. There was as much joy in my eyes in seeing them as I sensed in their eyes in seeing me. Our time was not as much measured in amount as it was in a common bond, somehow knowing we will play catch up in the life beyond this one. There was peace in knowing this.

 

As the night progresses, darkness covers the inner city of Jackson. In the parking lot of the Opportunity Center, a name in irony, I see my brothers and sisters do what they do. Each is in their own little group engaged in conversations with those who are addicted, mentally unstable, scamming, lonely, searching and a myriad of other reasons which none of us may know. The fire within me is stoked a little more. The joy makes me give a little smile. I am not so much proud of my brothers and sisters as I am honored to be in their presence. Against a lot of odds and against a lot of naysayers, my friends are serving God in a place most would not go. To love without expecting anything in return is the purest form of love. It is rarely reached.