I do love London. Not for the sights or sounds; not even the history (although all those things are pretty cool). I love London because of the variety of life. Stand around long enough and someone will eventually talk to you. I dont smoke cigarettes but I am partial to a wee cigar every now and then. I had some time to burn so I went outside Kings Cross Station and had a wee mini Cohiba at one of the wide open seating areas. 1 minute later a wee guy came up and asked me for 50p so he could buy a cup of coffee. I knew by the way he looked that he was well and truly homeless. Sparked up a conversation. How long you been homeless? was all it took. It was a familiar response as Ive heard similar stories from others in the same boat, and I guess I could have said something similar once upon a time. I used to be homeless. Proper, was my next statement. The man asked genuinly how did I get out of it. Told him about my addictions, living rough, feeling dead, the whole story compacted into a few condensed sentences. Told him about getting into a programme; finding faith; finding strength in prayer; throwing myself into recovery; being selfish in my recovery, and the fact that getting clean was the hardest thing Ive ever done. But that was just it; it CAN be done! As chance would have it the man had picked up a leaflet about some kind of church outreach event. He said he believed in God but didnt know much about him. Well was this not perfect timing!?! I told him he should pursue his curiosity, seek out God and find out more about Him. The man was now listening carefully to everything I had to say, and I explained that I knew being really homeless is a horrible existence. Is this all youve got to offer? I believe youve got much more to give back than you realise mate. If wed met 8 years ago and youd told me I would be down in Guildford in a pub singing about the love of Jesus I would have wholeheartedly rolled around the floor in laughter at such a ridiculous notion. But thats exactly what I did last night, and I even got paid for the privilege! I wonder where youll be in 8 years? It must seem impossible to see any kind of hope from where you are standing, but Im telling you you dont need to be afraid. There really is a life worth living and its full of hope. Are you not sick and tired of living in fear all the time? Only hope has the power to overcome fear; I found my hope in Christ. Listen: you need to throw yourself into a selfish recovery, be completely transparent and honest not just with others but with yourself; its the only way. Its only by facing your fears that youll stand a chance of overcoming them. Fear never forgets. Do you hear what Im saying? Literally stunned the wee man nodded. I handed him £20 and said, You dont need to be afraid anymore. He grabbed me and hugged me. He said thankyou more than once, and even shouted it from a distance. Why am I hear if not to share the Good News? It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly powerful the truth really is. I wish I could have shown you that wee guys face. Thank you Lord for allowing me to tell the truth once more!
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 15:05:47 +0000
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