You can tell someone about the Tenderloin but until you've experienced it for yourself it's hard to realize. The smell of urine and feces on the sidewalk can be horrid. The sights of men and women sleeping on the sidewalk can be hard to handle. Watching people use drugs, at 10 am, is quite the experience. But there are also some great people. Many smiles. Lots of dogs. And wonderful people serving the area in Jesus name. People who are there to intervene in Jesus name.
We parked the car and began heading to the conference. No more than two blocks into the walk (we only parked three blocks away) I witnessed my first drug deal. It was two young men looking to score a bag. The first man they approached didn't have what they were looking for. As I heard them ask to score, I wish I would have stopped them and told them where this lifestyle would lead them.
The time to serve came to an end and we decided to head home early so we could prep for my speaking engagement next week. As we talked about the time serving it was great to hear the girls thoughts. It was fantastic to see my wife so fully of joy. Charity said, "We should do this every weekend!"
When we got in the car looked at me and said, "Daddy, next year can we come here again and do the same thing?" She got it! My kid got it! It reminded me of the words of Christ:
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45When you think about your life, is there room to serve? Many people are serving already but maybe you could find a time to serve with your family and find the joy our family did.
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