Their home is dark because the electricity is turned off; this is common here.
Dishes of warm food cover the table however, this is not common here.
A candle is lit and placed on a saucer.....it's light is appreciated more than before.
Droplets of rain hit the tin roof...tap...tap tap.....a roof that was once eaten by rust and mother nature.
The rain comes down harder and he laughs. He used to sit in his home; wet.
The sound of rain is soothing.....he is dry.....the candle burns.
We gather around the table and eat the meal his mother prepared; it's delicious.
She spoon feeds him and he agrees.....it's delicious.
His story is a sad one; with twists and turns, with pride he shares anyway.....the good.....the bad.
He's familiar with suffering and poverty, but he prays for Americans who have far more than he ever will.
His speech is slurred and his education minimal.....he teaches intelectuals lessons about life.
A kitten plays around the table.....we lean in close and listen to his praise for God.....the candle burns.
He cannot hold a pencil; his hands are uncoordinated, but he writes songs.
Despite his circumstances he loves God wholeheartedly, and for God only.....he writes songs.
Cerebral palsy has crippled him physically, but his spirit is unrestrained.
He sits in a wheelchair; his legs and feet crooked and weak, but he stands taller than I do.
Humiliy creeps into the room unannounced, leaving it's mark on those who have ears to hear.
He is a vessel.....God gives him purpose.....he is Melvin.
Conversation is good.....hearts are changed.....his light shines.
22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
ReplyDeleteHe said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” Luke 13:22-30
Jeff, your story is amazing. As I was reading it all I coud think of was this passage with the emphasis being being on the last verse--"those who are last will be first, and first who will be last." The gate is open for "all" to enter it, but I think very few actually enter it. Many venture right up to the door but don't enter, waiting because they still have life in their bodies making a fatal mistake in the end and missing God's free gift of grace.
This story humbles my heart and shows how someone who is viewed as last in every way by society and culture as "last" is first in the kingdom of God.