Tert told the story of the day he had breakfast with a former homeless person, and Herman wrote it down:

“You see”, said the former homeless person, “I was an alcoholic for 18 years. Eight of those years I was living on the streets. I lost my job, my fiancé kicked me out; I basically lost everything. Then, just the other day, I was standing at the traffic lights at Village Mall again, waiting and hoping that someone would give me a little something. Many little somethings add up to a bread and a bottle. 

A man stopped next to me and looked at me. “Meet me on the other side,” he said to me and I jogged to the other side of the road. I was expecting more than a little something, otherwise he would have given me R2 and driven on. But instead, this man prayed for me. I was used to this too. But this man didn’t pray for my soul or the alcohol.  He prayed that the Lord would save me from my depression.”

“Then I said to him that he was not praying right. I wasn’t depressed. He simply smiled, gave me a R100 note, and drove away. I immediately went to buy a bottle and spent the rest of the day under a tree. 

The next morning, I didn’t immediately feel like a drink. The afternoon and evening came and went and I still didn’t feel like a drink. My craving was gone. Completely. For the first time in 18 years, I went to sleep without having had a drink.”

“The next morning my craving was still gone. I thought and thought and thought. About myself; where I was at that moment; where I had come from; where I was going. And about God in particular. You know, people say miracles don’t happen anymore, but I believe that the prayer from the previous day had healed my alcoholism, because never again had I ever craved a drink.

I realised a few things in my life would have to change drastically. Firstly, I had to stop begging and find a job. A permanent job. But it’s difficult. 

Eventually, I went to one of the churches down the street here and pushed the button at the gate. A woman answered. ‘Can I speak to the minister or the pastor or a counsellor, please,’ I asked. ‘Do you want food?’ she asked. ‘No.’ ‘Do you want counselling?’ she asked. ‘No, I just need some advice’. ‘Man, there’s no one here who can help you.’ 

And without even thinking about it, I asked her: ‘But can I talk to Jesus Christ then, please?’ Angrily she answered: ‘Don’t be stupid! He’s not here.’

You know, as I walked away, I realised she was right. He wasn’t there.  Ministers and pastors and church people are too busy for me and for people like me. They think that a hit and run outreach once in a blue moon, maybe handing out food parcels and clothes, is enough. Nobody is really interested in us. Not all of us are bad. You know, the Lord can’t be kept behind palisade fences until Sunday. He is not in people with fences around their hearts.”

This story touched me deeply and I wondered if I was living this command: ³… Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you.

Scripture
Hebrews 13:1-8

Reflection
Do you have compassion for suffering people?
Are you doing something about it?
Do you really make a difference in other people’s lives?

Prayer
Lord, may I never be where people say You aren’t. May I take You with me everywhere and be Your hands and feet for people who are being abused and who are suffering. Amen.