Hookers and Robbers- Charlie Hall

Around here, there’s graffiti on the playground equipment. Any surface with a few flat inches gets marked by some local teenager. When I’ve noticed the graffiti in the past I’ve said “typical” with a deep sigh and an accompanying eye roll. Not anymore.

Last Sunday afternoon I went for a run. Ok, I’ll be honest—I went for a jog/walk. As I was jogging down a neighborhood street, I saw her. I saw Fey. She was a woman about 100 yards ahead of me. She looked about 70, and she was hobbling with a cane. As we came closer I wondered, “should I stop and ask if she needs help? Should I pray for her legs?” and as I kept on jogging past her I sort of shrugged my shoulders and decided that because she didn’t make eye-contact with me, she must not need any help.

Which, I guess, was an OK decision… but I couldn’t stop thinking about her! At the next intersection I made a U-turn and headed back down the street where I first her. After a few minutes I saw Fey again, waiting at a crosswalk. Even though cars were stopping for her to cross, she kept waving them on. And then, without even looking to her left (where I happened to be jogging at an ever-slowing pace) she reached out her arm towards me, motioning for me to come to her side. She quietly said, “come, come.”

So I went. And I got to help Fey cross the street. In our 30 second walk across the road I learned that Fey had spent a few months in the hospital and had recently been released. When we were safely across the street I asked if I could pray for her, but she wasn’t interested. She was interested, however, in knowing my name. We exchanged names, and parted ways.

After I crossed the street again, I noticed two tough-looking men coming my way. I thought to myself, “ugh, I shouldn’t have crossed the street yet. Oh well, I just won’t make eye contact.” That’s when God said, “actually, I WANT you to make eye-contact”
cool, God. real cool.
So as the men got closer, I smiled and nodded. And then one of the men said, “what you just did for her was awesome.” I was taken aback, way WAY back. I managed an “oh, um, thanks” and kept walking. WHAT just happened?

I processed a lot of things as I walked home. Here is a sample of my inner monologue:
Wow God, way to teach me a lesson about those two guys who I placed in the “do not approach” category. He noticed what I did, not only noticed, but said something. I mean, I was prepared to ignore those guys, walk by without even looking at them, let alone actually seeing them as people, as humans, as your children… and what about Fey? I thought I was being all bold and Jesus-like by asking “can I pray for you” and then she’s just like, “no thanks.” What? I assumed she would want to get away quickly after telling me she didn’t want prayer, but she stayed around to ask my name. She wanted to know who I was… Did I really care to know who she was? Thank you God, because I mean, who ACTUALLY gets to walk old ladies across the street nowadays?

Then the last question hit me and stopped my forward motion-
When do I take time to purposefully be in situations with people who are needy, who might actually need help crossing the street? Or need help feeding their children? or need help paying the bus fare?

It’s this last question that has changed the way I see graffiti. You don’t typically find graffiti in affluent neighborhoods, well-to-do parts of the city, or communities with in-tact families. Just like the two men, I quickly categorized the graffiti as something to be avoided, as something to turn my eyes from. I now interpret the graffiti on our playground equipment differently. It is the outcry of a needy soul, who lives on a needy street, which sits in a needy neighborhood. This soul says, “Please don’t turn your eyes away from my neediness.”

And when I take time to hear that plea, I recognize it as the plea of my own heart. When my heart is exposed, as it has been here in New Zealand, I recognize that at the core of my being I am in desperate need of the Love, Truth and GRACE so freely poured out from Heaven. I am almost embarrassed by my absolute need for God. My need is all-consuming.
and how perfect that we know a God who knows our needs before we know how to describe them, and who delights in supplying his perfect provision for all that we lack.

It is ok to be needy, and hungry for deeper life. Everything apart from God’s truth will tell you differently. Be strong, the world says. Be in control, the world says. Don’t stop striving, the world says. But the WORD says, “My Grace is sufficient for you, because my POWER is made PERFECT in WEAKNESS.”
to which our response should be
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the Power of Christ may rest upon me.”

I am weak! And I need Jesus!
PuaNani

p.s. if you haven't heard the song which is the title of this post, you DEFINITELY need to hear it. :) 

Exciting things coming up:
--Tomorrow Morning at church I will be dancing with 4 other girls to the song “Beautiful” by Bethany Dillon. Our ages are 23, 23, 16, 14, and 11. I am so eager to dance with them!
--I am spending Monday-Thursday in Hamilton working with Columbian refugees! Then I am spending Friday-Monday snowboarding at Mt. Ruapeha!
--Please pray for the work of Ignite. Pray that God will provide clear direction—we are making some big decisions about the upcoming year!
--Please pray for Abby Pa’u. She just had surgery- everything went REALLY well, but she is still quite sore.
--Please pray for St. Columba’s youth group. Pray that God would stir up passion in their hearts!