Today has felt like a long day.
I get a lot done in long days, which is something to be thankful for.
I think though that I must write about something I saw tonight that I have to admit is something I haven’t done in a long time (actually I’ve never done it in this manor, or this public).
We all have those times where we break down. Everything is falling apart to the point where the only thing we can do is appeal to a higher power. “Scrubs” calls it the bargaining stage. Often times you hear about people falling to the floor and praying. You hear about them getting in their cars and going for a long drive. You hear about people who walk into a church for the first time in year and pray in the front row. In our most desperate hour, we seek this help.
Tonight, I saw a man drive into the Woodbury Lutheran Church parking lot at 10:15 PM. I had just dropped Amber off at her car after having a dinner with her at Applebee’s. Joel happened to be outside at the time as well, and we had started talking. We both turned when this car came in, wondering who would be arriving at this time, even though there was no way to get into the building.
A man stepped out who Joel recognized, and he told me the man’s story. The man was having marriage problems. He didn’t go into details, but it was conferred that the man was hurting.
The first thing I noticed was what he was wearing. It was classic business man atire. Something you don’t normally see after 5:00pm on a work day. His car had been playing christian music, but it had stopped when he shut off his car. This however did not stop him from walking up to the cross and singing the praise song at the top of his lungs.
I knew he saw us. I knew he knew we were there. I knew he didn’t care.
He was there for 1 reason, and that was to humble himself before God and say, simply, “You are awesome, I am yours, do with me what you will.”
He didn’t care about his suit. He didn’t care about the fact 2 strangers were watching him. He didn’t care that it was 10:30. He didn’t care about the cop car that drove by. All he cared about was praising the Lord, and he did for a whole hour. Something that I wish more of us (including myself) would just realize we need to do. We need to humble ourselves. We need to realize we aren’t the ones in charge. We need to be realize that God moves us when we do.
This man had it right, at least tonight. He was praising God, and being used by God, in more ways than he probably could have counted. Sometimes, all you have to do is just be there to be heard.