His name is Mike...

God is so indescribable sometimes... I wish I had the words in this moment to praise Him worthily.

There are many men and women here in the valley that are without a home... but there is this one man in particular, that has been pulling at our hearts. His sign is a bit different than all the others, it reads "Why lie, I need beer". I first heard about him from some "Christians" here in town, this group was specific that they "would not help a man like that", like what? I'm still not sure... I could take a guess as to what they mean though. "Christians" like this scare me a little, I wonder if they knew the "real" me, if they would say the same thing... I don't hold a sign that says anything about beer... but I have definitely done worse in my life time and am no where near perfect now. Anyway, that is for another blog...

For weeks when we have seen this homeless man I thought my heart would fall out of my chest... literally. We see him on Sunday's after church and usually on our way to eat with mom... we drive by him slowly, wait at the light for it to change to green, and then every time I completely loose my appetite. Every time God pushes so hard on my heart for this man... I didn't understand why until today!

Today, after being inspired by a story we heard a while ago from another homeless man, who had a stranger stop by with a bucket of chicken and sit down and eat it WITH him... we decided to obey God and buy 5 hot dog meals at Sams instead of four, and Jason went out there and brought the man some food and sat down and talked with him... It turns out this homeless man was born in Waco, TX, he graduated from University High in Waco in 1966, and served in the Vietnam War in 1969.... His name is Mike and he likes any and everything on his hot dog! On most Sunday's he tries to find a place where he can catch a Dallas game, he also grew up liking the Arizona Cardinals, and the Houston Texans. His face lite up, quite literally when Jason walked up to him carrying a plate of food and he said several times, "God bless you, God bless you". He smiled, revealing the last 3 teeth he had and talked as if his life of hardships was in the same ball park as our own small problems. The boy's and I stayed back in the van and prayed for his spirit and soul.

To you all of this might just sound wonderful, but to me... it is just amazing. You see, MY dad was born in Waco, Tx too, he graduated from the same University High in Waco in 1968 just two years after this man meaning they went to school together, and then my dad too, went off to serve our country in the Vietnam war in 1969. And just like Mike my father came back a more broken man than when he left... and in the end, he lost everything too. I spent my dad's entire life misunderstanding him and too afraid to talk to him... and now I often feel shame for how I acted towards my father... knowing that I knew the life changing truth of God's love and forgiveness and grace, and yet I could not forgive him for his brokenness until after he was gone. Today was a sort of "second chance" for me. God gave me a chance today, a chance to love someone who has probably hurt his wife and children, to show God's grace to someone other than myself... and a chance to be His precious feet and His Holy hands.

So much made sense to me today... Praise God. Praise God. Praise God, will you please~

Amanda Butcher

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:16-18 ~From the pulpit this AM in McAllen!