I try not to let all the Rom. Coms get to my head to much,
but I sometimes can’t help but hope that some movie-esk moment would happen in
my life.
I suppose that’s why I’m drawn to the stories in the Bible;
they just seem to be filled with them. Stories where a young Jewish girl
captivates the heart of a Persian king. Or the youngest shepherd boy of 12 is
chosen as king. Remember the time when the King of Kings notices the touch of
sick woman amidst a crowd? Or the time the Son of God came to earth to save the
life of His beloved. It’s good stuff, and it gets me every time. It’s story
after story of the kind of moments we all seem to hope for.
This past Saturday we had our Christmas party for the
students that come to the recreation center every Tuesday for help with their
homework. We invited every student and
their whole family, including distant relatives and close friends. We had everything ready. Food.
Gifts. Games. Music.
Decorations. It was going to be a
great party. The only problem was that
none of the children that we tutor or their families came to the party. Not one.
But one family did come.
We didn’t know them and they didn’t know us. They happened to see one of the invitations
to the party lying around at the recreation center and they just showed
up. Mom and Dad and their five year old
son. And suddenly this family became the
star attraction. We tried not to be too
abrupt in the special attention we showed them; but they seemed to be enjoying it. We had plenty of food and very pleasant
conversation around the table, while their son played with the other children
and some of the adults from Northeast Bible Fellowship.
For that time, those three mattered a whole lot. All our efforts to host a party were focused
on them. Pastor Alonso shared a short
but very warm presentation of the Gospel and included an invitation to trust
Jesus. For those two hours that one
family mattered a lot.
Pastor Bryant waited outside in the cool evening for nearly
half an hour looking for them, hoping they would attend our Tuesday Community
Bible study. They didn’t. But our hope is that the love focused on them
for two hours Saturday night will be a small sample to them of the far greater
love that Jesus has for them. For they
matter greatly to Him.
One of the other guests that also attended our party was a
man from an organization called Graffiti, in New York City. He came to see what
we were about. His ministry is based in a pretty rough neighborhood up there,
and while I was talking to him about it, he said a really cool thing. He gets a
lot of comments from others about how challenging his work must be. But his response is, “where some see
challenging, I see hopeful. The city is filled with so much hope.” And it’s
true. Walk down any street in Philly and you will find hope seeping out of its
crevices, waiting to be grown, wishing to bloom.
I love movie worthy moments, and to be honest, it can get
discouraging working in the city. But every time I stop, every time I look
around me and see the lives unfolding around me, I’m blown away by the story.
Because all around me are great people being used by God to pour into the lives
of those around me, as they take the time to build relationships and see people
in the crowd. From the kids who do their homework because they have someone who
cares enough to ask them to pull it out and then sits down next to him to help
him, to the family who saw one our invitation and came to our party, even
though they didn’t know us. In small but beautiful ways, God has been letting
us be his eyes and heart for moments in the lives of those in Frankford. He’s
been using us to see others, and show them they stand out by the way we love on
them.
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