Early Saturday morning myself and my friend and ODC member Ed put on warm clothes as it was 9 degrees outside, warmed up my truck and headed out to Publix stores to pick up the all their day old baked goods. There are various groups that alternate days of the week picking up the baked goods from a particular Publix location. But because of the ice covered roads and that I have a 4x4 pickup truck, I have been picking up all week from several Publix’s and taking the baked goods to various agencies. Saturday Ed and I spent an hour and a half picking up baked goods from 6 Publix stores.
After the last store we headed to The Living Room. It is a ministry that reaches out to the homeless and low income population in Huntsville. When we pulled in there were several homeless people standing outside smoking. I went into the building and there was around 80 of so cots set up where ever they would fit inside with people laying on them who spent the night to get out of the frigid cold. The volunteers at The Living Room were starting to serve breakfast to those staying there. We gave the volunteers bread and baked goods to serve with their meals. Then we opened the tail gate of my truck, and opened the boxes of baked goods, and started handing out the baked goods and breads to the line of homeless people that was forming to get food. People in the back of the line were yelling “save some for us” and Ed jumped up in the truck as we tried to keep up with people taking the baked goods.
It was 9 degrees outside, I was bundled up in layers of long johns and clothes and I was still cold. My heart broke inside as I saw all these homeless men and women, with not the proper clothing, standing outside in line trying to get some food. It reminded me of scenes I have seen on TV in Palestine, Africa, and other areas of the world of refugees lining up desperate to get food. The warming shelter that opened for the night would be closing soon and these people all would be back outside.
Jesus speak all throughout the Gospels of our need to love our neighbors. In Matthew 25 he separates people into two groups of “sheep and goats” based on those who showed compassion and hands-on helped and ministered to their neighbors in need. I was reminded Saturday morning of this and felt sad and a little guilty driving away from my “neighbors” in my rear view mirror towards my warm house. We are falling short on following Jesus’ command to Love our neighbors as ourselves.
My family, we still have a couple months of cold weather ahead of us. And we all have neighbors in our communities that are homeless or struggling to get by. I pray that as we begin a new week of plans and events, we will schedule in at least a time to be generous to our neighbors, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
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