A few days ago I found myself standing in the spring sunshine as a houseless man named John the Baptist prayed over me and our church. John had walked up to he building right as I was unlocking the door. He told me that the Sheriff had cleared him out of his camp. On his chest was a sticker from a local er showing he had recently been a patient there. John’s arms were covered in tattoos and he had several bags, some in bad shape. When I introduced myself to him, he was so excited because one of his bags, a ripped up grocery tote, had Allie written along one of the handles. He asked if he could get a garbage bag from me as his bags were hard to manage and maybe a bible as he had lost his. I went inside, got a large bag, one of our stack of giveaway bibles, a 10 pack of paper masks, a tube of lysol wipes, and a $5 gift card to Safeway. He was overjoyed to receive it all and immediately opened the bible and began reading. He then asked if he could do anything for me. He said he had nowhere to be and wanted to help someone. I said that I didn’t need anything in the moment, but asked him to lend help to someone else the next time he encountered anyone in need. He said he would and that he always did as that was the only thing that he could do. Then he asked if he could pray for me.
To be honest when John first approached me he startled me. And in the midst of my busy morning I didn’t really want to have to deal with a houseless person needing things from me or engaging with a mentally ill person. John was all those things, and yet despite the tangible items I gave them he gave me so much more. Being prayed for like that hasn’t happened in a long time. Just chatting with someone about life for a little, and having someone ask if they could help out was delightful. It reminded me that my purpose, my job, is not actually the list of thing I had to do that day, but rather the act of being present with people as I encounter them. This is what John did and I will gladly follow his example.
-Eilidh
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