a surrender - 52

(Continuing "a surrender", chapter seven, "freely have you received, freely give") 

We worked on the farm for a few months, then we did something that Heather had once dreamed of. We took a long walk. It started with a bus ride to the east coast, where there was a church for homeless people, that met out on the streets. We joined them for an inspiring worship time, and tried to learn from their experience and approach. It seemed similar in many ways to what we hoped for our retreat house. I was especially impressed by their respect for the spiritual lives of the people who gathered there for worship. It wasn’t about preaching at them, but being their church community. That was very unusual, in my experience. I remember a suburban church I visited once on an earlier walk, that had bussed many homeless people in for a service, preached to them about hell’s eternal flames, and then sent them back to their shelter in the city. Ironically, the preacher had used Jesus’ story about a rich man and Lazarus, but he failed to notice that in that story it was the poor, suffering Lazarus who ended up comforted in heaven, and the rich man who ended up in the flames. Jesus very much respected the spiritual lives of those who were ignored and cast out of society, and they were the ones who heard him gladly.

As we started walking south from there, Heather quickly took to life on the road. When we couldn’t find shelter one rainy night, she figured out a way to rainproof a big playground structure using our rain ponchos. And the next day when she wanted a break, she found a quiet spot in the woods, hidden from the road. There was a small clearing next to a shallow, rocky stream. We napped for while, and I woke to bird songs and the sunlight winking through the leaves overhead. With Heather beside me.

Our first big challenge came about two weeks later. Heather had developed a very sore ankle, but it was difficult to rest it when we had no place to stay for an extended time. I thought we might have to end our walk. And then the next morning, after a breakfast of bread and milk, we ran out of food. I was impressed that Heather seemed so calm about it. I didn’t feel so calm. It rained as we walked through the city that day, so we were looking for shelter, and hungry, as we approached a church that night. There were two men in the parking lot. We briefly explained our walk and asked to sleep outside the church. Then one of them, the pastor, asked for a personal reference. So we gave him the phone number of one of the leaders of the church at the farm community. We watched as the pastor called and talked with her. Then he talked with his wife. Then he invited us into their home, and his wife put supper in front of us. For dessert, she brought out a warm, homemade blueberry pie.

We had a good talk with them the next morning, over breakfast. And then they surprised us by offering a generous gift of money, too. We were so relieved and grateful. I left a thank you note behind, with Jesus’ words: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me… as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.” 

The next day we used some of the money to get arch supports for Heather’s sandals. And her ankle pain went away.

Continued...