I’m not crying, you’re crying! Our Chattanooga church had the wonderful privilege of joining with a downtown homeless ministry a few Sunday nights each year. The soup kitchens were closed on Sundays so several churches joined with this ministry, rotating to provide food for the indigent population each Sunday Evening. This group also helped with clothing, shoes, socks and toiletries. It was raining cats and dogs when about 10 of our members loaded the bus. Two other men, who had never been to our church, but heard that we were feeding the homeless, loaded up with us, eager to join in God’s work. We prayed that God would be with those we would meet and that we would see Him at work in people’s lives, and we asked Him to please lessen the rain, so the hungry people could be fed. As we drove about 15 miles to the feeding site, it was raining so hard people were pulling over on the interstate with their flashers on. I continued to pray while I was driving the bus and I am sure others did too. Strangely, as we pulled into the vacant parking lot where we were going to set up our tables, the rain stopped completely, not another drop came down the whole time we were there. We fed close to 100 people some pizza, shared a short sermon, gave them some snacks, water, and helped them find some clothes and shoes to wear. It was obvious they needed some clean clothes after living in the streets with no money nor means to wash the ones they were wearing. One lady in a wheelchair was in great need of some new shoes. It was the only way she could get around. She couldn’t walk, but she could move her chair with her feet, if she had shoes that would grip the pavement. Her last pair had split and the soles had torn off. It was time to go and it was getting dark. We searched every box, every bag, every tote for some shoes that would fit her. We had cleaned up the site, everyone was gone but this woman and her friend, and we needed to get back to the church. Sadly, we were going to have to leave without finding shoes for this woman. Finally, in hopeless desperation, one of the two men who had joined us, looked at his feet and her feet, then took off his own shoes and said, “please, just try these.” They were a perfect fit. She cried, and he cried and they hugged…and of course, we all cried for joy right along with them. We prayed and thanked the Lord for His providence and thanked Him for stopping the rain and boarded the bus for the ride home. The man climbed on the bus with muddy bare feet and we all cried again. As soon as everyone was gone, our bus wheels left the parking lot and hit the street, the rain poured down in buckets once again. I don’t know if I had trouble seeing the road on the way back because of the rain or the tears that filled my eyes. There was a short sermon that was preached that day by one of the pastors, but the message we all remembered, was the one we witnessed with our own eyes preached by God himself.
The Psalmist says, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.”(Psalm 126:5–6 NIV)
Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!