I am the queen of randomness. And sometimes my stories and experiences even leave me asking, “did that honestly just happen?” even though I know it happened because I lived it. And tonight my streak of randomness continued. I went to get coffee with my permanent carpool passenger at the only coffee shop in Fairmont which happens to be located in a gas station. When we went inside we ran into two friends (everyone is a friend to me) I had spent time with over the summer, especially during my rotation. We began talking and after twenty minutes of conversation and laughs we sat at a table. After our unplanned but very fun night of laughs at the gas station caused my friends to miss their movie; we decided to go to Applebees. (I know, I need help with my Applebees addiction) I thought the only random part of my night was watching friendships develop and memories made over gas station coffee until I heard one of the most random stories ever. One of my friends was giving a detailed account of a recent night out. She had asked a friend from school to go to the movies and dinner. During dinner she learned that he had 2 children by discovering their names tattooed on his wrists and he was much older than your typical college freshman. Already blown away by the events of the night, he asked her for a ride home. She said of course where are you going? His reply still leaves her shocked at the randomness of the situation. He lived at the Union Mission. A boy whom she had talked to many times during class and known as the boy who was completing 10 hours of class so he could enlist in the Marines was a homeless father of two. And I thought I was the queen of randomness!
Despite my days of a misfit youth searching for a permanent place to call home; I was never homeless. I always had someone who shared their home with me but more than a temporary shelter; I had a home within the arms of Jesus. Jesus took the random and painful circumstances of my life and gave me a life in Him. He rebuilt me by stripping me of everything I had ever known. As a teenager, I was completely homeless because I didn’t know Jesus. I didn’t know that my true home awaits me in Heaven one day. I didn’t know that I could lose everything I ever owned, ever loved, or ever cherished and still have a place to call home. I didn’t know that as long as Jesus lives inside of me; I have a permanent shelter of protection, I have a permanent house of love, I have a permanent family of others who at one time were also stripped of everything they had ever known. I didn’t know that being homeless had so many rewards. Have you allowed Jesus to take away everything you have ever known in order for Him to show you the home he has built for you? Have you found peace in knowing that Jesus is all that you need? Do you have a reason to sing despite the random and painful circumstances in your life? Jesus will always be waiting to take us back in friends. Jesus is the only place where the response will always be, “Welcome Home.”
Tonight, as I ended my evening by shopping for puzzles at Walmart past midnight, I realized that I am still possibly the queen of randomness. But despite my randomness and brokenness that have at times left me feeling helpless and homeless; I have Jesus. I have Jesus who sings over me and reminds me of his unending faithfulness. I have Jesus who has given me a permanent home in Him and no matter how abandoned I may feel; I find peace when He draws me into His arms. And his warmth and embrace are the only true home I have ever known.
Verse to remember: Psalm 84: 1-2 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
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