The Perfect Storm: Jan 23, 2020
One of the teams were out on one of the coldest nights during the winter storm.
They were actually driving to check in about 7 more guests into hotel rooms. Gwen and Sug took a wrong turn through a parking lot and noticed a small tent pitched on the side of a building. Sug was compelled to check it out just to make sure no one was inside. But there was. Jimmy was inside, he’s the one standing next to me in the picture. His fingers were blue and he was shivering uncontrollably. He had everything he owned stacked around him trying to stay warm, but failing.
Sug began asking him questions to see if he wanted shelter, Jimmy answered but was in somewhat of a stupor thinking he was dreaming. He willingly got in the car and into a room, and soon got warm enough and regained coherence. Sug packed all of his stuff and even rode his bike across the street in the snow so he didn’t lose any of his belongings. He was so, so grateful. And I can’t help but think what could have happened to him that night.
Jimmy is just one story. There are so many. And all of them changed me, deeply. Several of them got to come to church on Sunday and Jimmy told me after service, “He was on cloud nine being there with us.” Anthony, the other one in the picture, went up for prayer during service and just gripped onto Cam so tight. He didn’t have words, just a tangible grief. Cam held him, praying a little, but mostly just sitting with him in the pain. It was utterly beautiful and a total honor to behold.
I’ve been wanting to write every day since this ended. But I couldn’t. My family needed me to slow down and just be with them. And I’ve needed time to sit quietly before the Lord to process the whole experience. Still, it seems almost too soon and too sacred to put a pen to. And I don’t believe words will do it justice. I’ve also been wanting to share with each and every one of you, as a gift and offering to the city of Wichita for all the ways you wrapped your arms around our brothers and sisters on the street. I wanted to give you at least a glimpse of the magnitude your contributions accomplished. This whole experience was holy ground. Truly. The kind of thing I need to take my sandals off just to talk about.
Getting to know them, over the course of 10 days, gave me a unique kind of joy. Going door to door, serving meals and connecting with each soul is something you can’t describe. You can’t even tell it. They checked out Monday and the whole day weighed heavy on my heart. I felt such concern for their well-being, like I would for my own children. It just hurt. I know getting them out of the sub-zero temperatures was important. It mattered. And it was worth it. But I can’t help but think what God’s wildest dreams are for them. He loves them, and not one of them goes overlooked or unnoticed. They’re his sons and daughters. And He sees. He knows. And He cares. I find myself wide open to go on new journeys to the deep places of His heart for his children without shelter.
I’m pretty sure I already knew this, but it’s clearer now. Only a couple of things will really matter when it’s all said and done.
-Did you learn how to love?
-And how well did you serve the least of them?
Fancy buildings, ministry titles, and even casting out demons won’t mean anything when we stand before the throne. The size of our congregations, our prophetic words, and even our greatest accolades won’t be on our minds when we see Jesus face to face.
I believe it will only be,
-Did I learn how to love?
-And how well did I serve the least of them?
May we never forget what we carry in our heritage and spiritual DNA. To love, protect and defend the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, the marginalized, and the ones who everyone else has thrown away. It’s who we are and the thing we must not forsake. We can’t build doctrines around scripture if we have to throw away the life Jesus lived to do it. He fulfilled the law, so we have to pay close attention to how he did that. And from what the gospels tell us, he did it with scandalous grace and an unwavering love that covered all of our depravity and broke all the rules.
The beauty of needing a Savior is that it’s the great leveler. Not one of us is more important, more special, or better than anyone else. But we are all significant. Fearfully and wonderfully made. Endowed with gifts from heaven and imprinted with the image of our Creator. The love of Jesus bestows value on every human life. He doesn’t need us, but His plan always included us. And the hope of Jesus reaching the world is you and me.
I dare you to trust again that eternity is within our reach. The kingdom is now, on earth as it is in heaven. All He needs is our ‘yes,’ even when it’s too big to understand. He does the heavy lifting and brings all the pieces together. It’s amazing what can happen when we mobilize and take the risk of jumping in. Riding this unplanned wave of the Spirit was hard work, but awaiting us on the other side was an explosion of grace that impacted a whole city.
It reminds me of an African Proverb:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Amen. Thank you Wichita.
Author: Stephanie Jackson
They were actually driving to check in about 7 more guests into hotel rooms. Gwen and Sug took a wrong turn through a parking lot and noticed a small tent pitched on the side of a building. Sug was compelled to check it out just to make sure no one was inside. But there was. Jimmy was inside, he’s the one standing next to me in the picture. His fingers were blue and he was shivering uncontrollably. He had everything he owned stacked around him trying to stay warm, but failing.
Sug began asking him questions to see if he wanted shelter, Jimmy answered but was in somewhat of a stupor thinking he was dreaming. He willingly got in the car and into a room, and soon got warm enough and regained coherence. Sug packed all of his stuff and even rode his bike across the street in the snow so he didn’t lose any of his belongings. He was so, so grateful. And I can’t help but think what could have happened to him that night.
Jimmy is just one story. There are so many. And all of them changed me, deeply. Several of them got to come to church on Sunday and Jimmy told me after service, “He was on cloud nine being there with us.” Anthony, the other one in the picture, went up for prayer during service and just gripped onto Cam so tight. He didn’t have words, just a tangible grief. Cam held him, praying a little, but mostly just sitting with him in the pain. It was utterly beautiful and a total honor to behold.
I’ve been wanting to write every day since this ended. But I couldn’t. My family needed me to slow down and just be with them. And I’ve needed time to sit quietly before the Lord to process the whole experience. Still, it seems almost too soon and too sacred to put a pen to. And I don’t believe words will do it justice. I’ve also been wanting to share with each and every one of you, as a gift and offering to the city of Wichita for all the ways you wrapped your arms around our brothers and sisters on the street. I wanted to give you at least a glimpse of the magnitude your contributions accomplished. This whole experience was holy ground. Truly. The kind of thing I need to take my sandals off just to talk about.
Getting to know them, over the course of 10 days, gave me a unique kind of joy. Going door to door, serving meals and connecting with each soul is something you can’t describe. You can’t even tell it. They checked out Monday and the whole day weighed heavy on my heart. I felt such concern for their well-being, like I would for my own children. It just hurt. I know getting them out of the sub-zero temperatures was important. It mattered. And it was worth it. But I can’t help but think what God’s wildest dreams are for them. He loves them, and not one of them goes overlooked or unnoticed. They’re his sons and daughters. And He sees. He knows. And He cares. I find myself wide open to go on new journeys to the deep places of His heart for his children without shelter.
I’m pretty sure I already knew this, but it’s clearer now. Only a couple of things will really matter when it’s all said and done.
-Did you learn how to love?
-And how well did you serve the least of them?
Fancy buildings, ministry titles, and even casting out demons won’t mean anything when we stand before the throne. The size of our congregations, our prophetic words, and even our greatest accolades won’t be on our minds when we see Jesus face to face.
I believe it will only be,
-Did I learn how to love?
-And how well did I serve the least of them?
May we never forget what we carry in our heritage and spiritual DNA. To love, protect and defend the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, the marginalized, and the ones who everyone else has thrown away. It’s who we are and the thing we must not forsake. We can’t build doctrines around scripture if we have to throw away the life Jesus lived to do it. He fulfilled the law, so we have to pay close attention to how he did that. And from what the gospels tell us, he did it with scandalous grace and an unwavering love that covered all of our depravity and broke all the rules.
The beauty of needing a Savior is that it’s the great leveler. Not one of us is more important, more special, or better than anyone else. But we are all significant. Fearfully and wonderfully made. Endowed with gifts from heaven and imprinted with the image of our Creator. The love of Jesus bestows value on every human life. He doesn’t need us, but His plan always included us. And the hope of Jesus reaching the world is you and me.
I dare you to trust again that eternity is within our reach. The kingdom is now, on earth as it is in heaven. All He needs is our ‘yes,’ even when it’s too big to understand. He does the heavy lifting and brings all the pieces together. It’s amazing what can happen when we mobilize and take the risk of jumping in. Riding this unplanned wave of the Spirit was hard work, but awaiting us on the other side was an explosion of grace that impacted a whole city.
It reminds me of an African Proverb:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Amen. Thank you Wichita.
Author: Stephanie Jackson
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