Yesterday I met a man who had every reason to be angry. He told me he grew up in an orphanage in Mexico. As a young man, he left everything he knew and crossed the border into America. He wasn't chasing riches or comfort. He was running from the dangers of the city where he grew up, hoping for a chance at a different life.
What he found here was something he never expected. He found Jesus. As he sat across from me, he spoke about that moment with the kind of conviction that can only come from someone whose life has truly been changed. He said meeting Jesus changed everything.
Today, he is homeless. By the world's standards, his circumstances are hard. Yet there was something about him that felt richer than many people who have homes, savings accounts, and secure futures.
At one point, he pulled out his phone and began scrolling through pictures. I expected family photos or memories from years past. Instead, he showed me selfies he had taken while doing construction work. He smiled as he swiped through them. "How can I be discouraged," he asked, "when I have so much to be thankful for?" He pointed to the photos. "I take pictures to remind myself that I get to be thankful for a job. I get to be thankful for places like this that feed me when I'm hungry." Then his voice softened.
With tears gathering in his eyes, he began talking about God's promises. He spoke of the scripture that says God will redeem the years the locusts have eaten. He said life had not been easy. There had been loss. There had been hardship. There had been years that seemed stolen. But he believed God was redeeming them. "My life hasn't been easy," he said, "but I know the Lord is with me. He promises to be with me in times of feast and in times of famine." The tears came freely now.
What struck me most was not his suffering but his gratitude. Here was a man who had experienced abandonment, danger, poverty, uncertainty, and homelessness. Yet instead of bitterness, he overflowed with thanksgiving. Instead of asking why life had been unfair, he talked about how faithful God had been. Instead of dwelling on what he didn't have, he rejoiced over what he did.
He told me that one day he would be in the arms of Jesus, and when that day came, the pain of this life would fade in the presence of eternal joy. His greatest desire wasn't comfort. It wasn't wealth. It wasn't even a home.
His greatest desire was that people would know the name of Jesus and the hope that can be found in Him. As I listened, I realized I wasn't speaking with a homeless man. I was speaking with a man whose treasure was somewhere this world could never touch. A man who had every reason to be bitter but chose gratitude. A man who had every reason to lose hope but clung to Christ. A man who reminded me that faith is not proven in abundance. It is proven when there is little, and yet we still say, "God is good."
Today I met a man who had almost nothing. And yet, somehow, he seemed to possess everything. - written by Lauren Strickland
3rd Annual Los Angeles-Hollywood Mission Trip
The Walk Youth Group
Building 229
Venmo: oneneednow
1NeedNow, Inc.
Thomas County area ministry