Archive for the ‘Serving Christ’ Category

Because it was Friday morning I was on my normal Friday routine — up early to serve breakfast at Wayside Christian Mission and then over to pray at the local abortion center. For the last two years I have been slowly building a relationship with an escort at the center. He and I have a common interest in deer hunting so this time of year is ripe with stories and conversation. I have blogged previously of using that commonality to build a bridge of relationship in which to show the love of Christ. It is a slow and uncertain path but I have enjoyed my conversations with someone I have nothing politically or spiritually in common with.

Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to catch up with this man. I had been out bow hunting the evening before (with no luck) and was updating him with the year’s progress. Modern gun season also opens tomorrow so we had much to talk about.

He was telling me a story he had heard of a tobacco farmer who had sold hunting rights for a few hundred acres to a group of hunters. He said this group brought in some ARs (evil black assault rifles for those of you not in the know) and just shot the place up. It seems this group not only tore the place up, but also irresponsibly left multiple deer carcases in the area. While that is bothersome and definitely not a responsible hunting habit, the following comments were what struck me. Now note that these comments are standing in front of an abortion clinic which puts a very different perspective on things.

He said “They were just murdering the deer. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is right”.

The irony was amazing and I was almost speechless. I shared it with a fellow brother in Christ and he replied “Wow, you can’t make this stuff up”.

For anyone who this story doesn’t just jump right out at to, let me detail it.

An abortion center’s sole existence — the way it funds itself — is to perform abortions which terminate the fetus, end the pregnancy, kill and murder the baby (use whichever PC or non-PC wording you would like). They do not make money providing contraception, offering alternatives to abortion, or otherwise providing “choice”. They only make money by killing little babies. And currently our legislation, legal system, and culture allow this to happen. In essence, it is legal. Now all you have to do is go back to my acquaintance’s statement of “They were just murdering the deer. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is right” and swap out “deer” with “baby” to see just how ironic the statements are and how blind some folks are to the horror and tragedy that occur behind those doors.

Frequently in my prayers in front of that center I pray for a result similar to what occurred in Acts 9 where Saul’s blind eyes were given sight and scales fell from his eyes and he could see again. His course was immediately changed — he was baptized, renamed, and became one of the biggest evangelists the world has seen. I pray that for any of us who may have blind spots. And I pray that for those in the orange vests.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

This morning on my commute to work I experienced a different facet of my roadside ministry. While I have not blogged about most of my roadside discipling encounters (in an effort to be true to Matthew 6), almost all of the reactions to the physical assistance and spiritual reference have ranged from belated happiness/thankfulness to ambivalence. To date I have not had someone outright deny or reject the assistance or message I am conveying. That all changed this morning.

I happened to be listening to a Chip Ingram podcast (highly recommended by the way) and noticed a Ford truck on the other side of the road. I grabbed a Jesus card and stuck it in my pocket but then noticed that the two guys changing the flat tire were pretty much already done. I didn’t think they needed my help so I passed by them and cruised through the next intersection without turning around. However, something prompted me to turn around at the next intersection and go back.

—– tangent —–
Now I don’t know why I always say “something”. I know it is the Holy Spirit prompting me to action. And as my walk with Jesus continues on, my heart continues to clarify tuning into the Holy Spirit and the message He is giving me. Kind of like an old school dial radio where you heard a faint radio station in the distance and you dialed in the tuner to clarify the signal and remove the static.
—– tangent off —–

Even though I was pretty sure they were almost done with changing the flat tire and didn’t need my help, I was prompted to turn around to deliver the message that Jesus loves them and someone else out in the world cares about them and their safety (physically and spiritually). This was one time where it was clear to me this wasn’t about physically helping someone out of a jam on the side of the road. Even though they were good they needed to hear the message of love and Jesus.

I pulled up behind the truck, got out and asked them if they needed any help. The rough guy working on the right front wheel lugs looked up thankfully but continued on the tire stating that they were good. I asked them if they needed anything else and he commented they were good and nodded and smiled. I then pulled out the Jesus card, gave it to him and asked if he knew about the love of Jesus. The smile melted from his face and it appeared to change to disgust. He backed up a step like I was a leper and stated that he was an atheist. He thrust the card back to me. It caught me off guard and I was completely unprepared for the situation. All I could do was tell him that I just wanted to make sure they were ok and that he could discard the card. I told them to have a good day and returned to my vehicle.

While I felt like an impotent failure, a sadness settled over me – not necessarily because I failed or because I didn’t make an impact, but because here was a man who clearly did not want to have anything to do with the great God who made him and loves him. I don’t know why that impacted me so much because I come across people every day who are ambivalent to the God who wants to have an intimate, personal relationship with them. But the visual message of deliberately walking apart from God was strong and I felt sadness for what he was missing out on – and sadness for God that one of his children was choosing to not walk with Him. Again, I understand this happens every single day but for some reason it was intensely manifested in this scenario.

I’d like to think that I could become a better convincer or effective persuader so that these folks can experience the love and joy Christ brings. However, that would put too much emphasis on what I do and not enough emphasis on what Jesus can do. I guess it is in times like these where I feel absolutely impotent, incapable and ill-equipped that God does His best work.

If I could write the ending to this story it would be this – that the man stuck that card back into his pocket because he did not want to litter. And then later in the day, after a hard time at work or maybe an argument with his girlfriend, he will fumble for his keys and feel that card and pull it out to throw it away. And the words Jesus Loves You will tug at his hurting heart. And he will read further the words of Christ and about His unending love for HIM. And that will begin the softening process of his heart and he will seek out his long lost grandma who never stopped praying for him — that her prodigal grandson would finally accept the Jesus she taught him about when he was little. And it is all because Jesus fills in any of our gaps, falls, and shortcomings when it comes to spreading His Gospel.

Thank you Lord!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Before you read this post, catch yourself up by reading:

So there we were – worshiping with our new friends Freddy and Sheena among a few thousand of the body of Christ. I did prep them ahead of time — that it was a very large church; that there would be a lot of people; that the worship, music and message would be impactful. Oh, and did I say that it was a large church? In fact, while we were getting the kids checked in Freddy mentioned that it seemed like a convention center. And he should know because that is his 11pm to 7am job.

The sermon, as always, was spectacular — The End of Me – Where Real Life Begins. This week’s was #3 in the series entitled “The End of My Performance” and hit home to any of us who have followed God’s rules, done what we thought was right, or “put on a happy face” so that we could get “credit”, get noticed or get acceptance. Pastor Kyle equated it to getting stickers in Sunday School for attendance, bringing your Bible, memorizing verses or singing songs. While those are good habits, so many of us continue that “performance for stickers” into our adulthood faith leaving our hearts empty while we focus on our outside appearance and behavior. That is exactly the opposite of what God intends because He is way more concerned with our inside hearts than our outside appearances.

That sermon message made my previous fears, doubts and concerns seem so fickle, small and flacid. While they did consume some of my time and thoughts, I was so grateful that God did not allow them to paralyze me to inaction. I continued to be reminded of 1 John 3:18:
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

Post service we reunited with their kids and asked if they would like to join us for an early lunch. Freddy and Sheena were grateful and accepted our invitation. They made a statement that hit me – it was the first time their family had been out to eat a meal in over 2 years. Wow! Something my family and I completely take for granted is a rare occurrence for them. It was humbling and gave me a different perspective that I need to keep as a reminder.

We hit the nearby Cracker Barrel and were greeted with a half hour wait which I assume is normal for that location on a Sunday after a mega-church service concludes. However, it was a great opportunity to hang outside the restaurant where they have all those rocking chairs and checkers for the kids to play with. It also allowed my kids time to interact with their kids. And soon enough, we were seated.

Because we were a party of 10, we couldn’t be seated together. And while I viewed that as an unfortunate disappointment, I believe it was God’s intention. You see, it allowed my three kids to sit with their oldest, the moms and two young boys to sit together, and for Freddy and me to share a meal. So not only did that personal 1 on 1 time provide us the opportunity to get to know them as individuals, it gave me time to minister to Freddy, father to father, husband to husband and my wife time to minister to Sheena, mother to mother, wife to wife. I could not have planned it better and it was another reminder of God’s master plan being so much better than my own plan.

On our way out of Cracker Barrel, we bought each of the kids a small candy and loaded into the Tahoe for the ride back to Wayside Christian Mission while our kids took the other car home. We continued getting to know Freddy and Sheena and encouraged them on their path. It was important that we wind our visit down so Freddy could catch a few hours of sleep before his next job at 2pm. I was impressed and thankful he sacrificed his few hours of sleep so he could be with his family and us at worship. That is his current focus and I am humbled to be able to support and encourage him. So many others in his situation would be wise to follow his courageous lead. So many of society’s problems would be better if folks buckled down, focused, and loved and provided for their family like he is trying to do. It might not be perfect, but it sure beats sitting on your butt collecting a gov’t check while blaming others for the poop you are sitting in.

We’ll see what God has in store for their family and for ours.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

In last Friday’s post, I shared the story of meeting Freddy and his family at Wayside Christian Mission and how I (directed by the Holy Spirit) invited them to worship with me and my family on Sunday.

Now let me remind you of the doubts and fears that assailed me all weekend. Below are some snippets:

  • You are going to have to go ALL the way downtown to pick them up only to backtrack 20 minutes.
  • You don’t know these people. How are the kids going to act? What are they going to wear?
  • This is really going to disrupt your family’s normal worship time together. Your wife covets family time.
  • What do you think this is — the Blind Side movie?
  • You don’t know what is going to happen? What will all those church people think?

I had to remember two things:

  • God’s got this
  • Satan assails the strongest when we are closest to doing God’s will

And so, not knowing what to expect, I first crossed the bridge of telling my wife. You see, I love her so much but we are different in our comfort levels of many things. I tend to be more extroverted and more spontaneous. In the past, those traits have put me and her in challenging situations – mostly socially (like inviting all the guys over to watch football when she had a nice family day planned). I have learned to scale back and to also confirm schedules with her prior to making any commitments. However, because I was outside of my comfort zone, I knew she also would be. Additionally, I had not confirmed our schedule. But my wife took it all in stride and completely supported my action. The first prayer had been answered.

Next up was the logistical challenge of getting two families composed of 9 people to church on time. The meeting time I had planned left buffer room for minor adjustments. I was glad I woke up 30 minutes earlier than the alarm I set and I turned out needing all those minutes. I left on schedule and arrived 30 minutes later downtown on schedule. Sheena and the three kids were all ready in the lobby and I was excited because things were materializing as I had envisioned — no no-shows, no traffic detours, no miscommunication. I parked, got out and greeted all the kids. I was happy to see them all and they looked good. I was ready to pack them all up in my car when Sheena informed me that Freddy would also be joining us. That was good and bad news. Good because I have been praying for Freddy’s faith and that he will see and feel the love of Christ. Bad because there were six of us now and my car only has seat belts for five. Additionally, he had just gotten off his second job that goes 11pm to 7:30am and was still upstairs taking a shower. So we proceeded to consume the buffer time I built in.

Soon enough we were all packed into my car and headed to worship. It was nice to spend time chatting and getting to know the family. They were grateful for the love, attention and opportunity to get away from the shelter and go to church. They have been at the shelter for 3 weeks but are not able to spend much time together because of Freddy’s two jobs and because Wayside does not allow families to stay together. The men must stay with men and the women and children stay together. There are also some folks at the shelter – both workers and visitors – that are not so pleasant either in aroma, attitude, or behavior. Freddy and Sheena are thankful for what it is but also realize that it is not a place for a family to stay long. They are on a waiting list for the Wayside hotel – where families can stay together – as well as trying to get their feet under them so they can achieve their longer term goal of getting an apartment. I was glad to hear they had goals and glad to hear they were doing what was in their control to improve their situation. Having spent almost 3 years down at Wayside, I have seen people absolve themselves of all responsibility for their circumstances instead blaming anything they can – gov’t, the economy, Wayside, business, the streets, others around them, etc. That is not to say that all of those might not be contributing causes but ultimately, we are each recipient of the choices we make each day which can either empower or imprison us.

We arrived to church with time to spare – however, we still had to check the kids into the kids worship and classrooms. Because they were new, that process took extra time. The volunteer coordinators, teachers and facilitators were spectacular and I must brag upon my church for how they handle the huge influx of hundreds of kids in a professional, safe, efficient, loving and personal manner. Each person in the kids worship treated Freddy, Sheena and the kids as if they were special and the only ones there.

We headed back to the sanctuary hearing the worship music already in full stride. I lucked out and spotted my wife and kids up towards the front and they slid over having saved the appropriate number of seats that I had pre-texted ahead.

This is quite a long post and the story continues so I will break it up into two posts.

To be continued.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

This morning during my normal Friday routine at Wayside I observed something I don’t see that often there — a father that is present and engaged. Usually, the women and children eat breakfast on one side of the cafeteria and the men’s recovery group eats on the other. It is very rare to have a married couple at the shelter (where they can sit together on the family side) and even more rare for a father to be present with his wife and children. So when I saw a father with his wife and three kids walk through the line and sit down together, I felt that I needed to chat with him to give him encouragement – 1 because that is rare for a dad to be with his family in a homeless shelter and 2 because it is even more rare in the African-American community.

So when the dad stood up to clear his tray I made my way to him so I could take it from him and encourage him. I greeted him and found out his name was Freddy. There were about 20-25 women and children eating and I asked him to turn around and look at the scene. I asked him what was missing and then pointed out that he was the only father present with his family. I told him he was doing something right and that he was on the right path and to keep going. He then proceeded to introduce me to his wife Sheena, and his three beautiful kids, Anaiah, Koran and Ethan. He thanked me for the encouragement and they walked out.

Fast forward through the rest of serving breakfast and me leaving to go pray at the abortion clinic. However, on my drive there I saw Freddy and his family on the street. I was moved by the Holy Spirit to go around the block and help them beyond the breakfast I served them. I rolled down the window and pulled up to them so they could see who I was. I got out and handed Freddy some money and a Jesus card and asked him if he knew about Jesus. He said yes and I told him I had something for them in my trunk. You see, in addition to my roadside ministry preparations — tools, gloves, gas can, antifreeze, etc — I also have blessing bags that a friend gave to me for distribution. She made these bags to give out to needy folks and they have water, crackers, soap, tissue, fruit snacks, and many other little things that make life on the streets a little easier. I gave a bag to each of them. The kids immediately tore into the fruit snacks and I knew they would go to good use. Freddy told me he was working two jobs to provide for his family but that it was hard because he had been in prison. I then found out that Freddy was Muslim but that Sheena and the kids were Christian. He asked me where I worshiped and when I answered I also offered to take them to Sunday service at 9am. I asked if they could be ready for me to pick them up at the shelter at 8am. They agreed and I told them I would see them there at that time. Then their bus pulled up and I hurried off because I was blocking the bus stop.

WHAT did I just do? When I drove away the reality of what I just did hit me. You see, when the Holy Spirit is working God has a way of getting His way. However, now back in my car the logistics of a Sunday morning with two families hit me. The realization that I had to tell my wife that I would not GO with her to church, but instead meet them at church. It would throw off our Sunday family routine. And what would they look like or what would the kids act like with all those church people watching. And we don’t go to a small, everyone-knows-you, you-can-tell-the-story church.

All these doubts and fears began to take hold. However, I had made a commitment and was going to follow through — in spite of being way outside my comfort zone. I am being called to love on these folks and I know that God will provide as He always does. It is not easy and the fears are constantly there to remind me that this is disruptive, this is not normal, this is uncomfortable, and this is inconvenient.

Stay tuned.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Before I get into my story, if you don’t know the background of the Jesus Card — go here.

As I drove to work this morning, I was in a groove listening to my local Christian radio station, WJIE. I was about halfway to work when I noticed a small car on the side of the freeway up ahead. As I passed, I noticed the truck open with the spare tire out and a young lady sitting in the driver’s seat. I was moved to act and exited at the next offramp so I could go back around and help her out. On my way back on the other side, I noticed a guy in a pickup truck on the shoulder with the same predicament. I made a mental note and decided to come back to him after I helped out the young lady. God was giving me lots of opportunity this morning.

The small car was parked in the wedge of land between the freeway and the offramp and she had pulled way over to the side. This made me happy because it was very safe and gave lots of room to safely pull over. I approached her car, she rolled the window down and I asked her if I could do anything to help her. With the spare tire out, I figured she didn’t have enough strength to either jack the car up or loosen the lug nuts. Unfortunately, it was neither. She had some very nice custom wheels but did not have the lug tool key. She had called AAA and was waiting for them to arrive. Unable to offer any physical assistance, I switched my speech to making sure she felt safe and then asking her if she knew Jesus. I handed her the Jesus card and she said she knew Him and thanked me for stopping.

I got back into my car and, as I looked back for a clearing in the freeway traffic so I could merge safely I noticed a huge gap — which was created by the AAA flatbed truck arriving. I laughed at God’s timing and jumped into the gap which allowed the tow truck to inhabit my spot. God’s perfect timing. And it brought a smile to my face.

I shifted gears to pickup truck guy on the other side of the freeway and down a mile. My smile turned into a hearty laugh when I saw across the median a tow truck pull in front of pickup truck guy. And while pickup truck guy wouldn’t get a Jesus card, I knew he was going to be OK.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I heard an impactful quote last night during my Emmaus men’s walk formation.

“God doesn’t call the equipped;
He equips the called.”

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

This morning I followed my normal early Friday morning routine with a trip to Wayside Christian Mission to serve breakfast to those in need followed by a prayer vigil outside our local abortion center. When I arrived at Wayside, I was greeted by my friend John who has served faithfully down there every Tuesday and Friday mornings for several years now. He is a retired pediatrician and keeps himself busy with volunteer and service efforts when he isn’t sailing or teaching sailing. He is a regular fixture on the Ohio in his sailboat and he loves the Spring, Summer and Fall when he can get out on the water.

While normally John and I are busy serving and such, we had lots of time to chat because we were joined by a dozen additional volunteers from U of L (University of Louisville for those readers not local). That pretty much put John and me out of business so we caught up on things. After family and recent event download John had a church finance meeting to get to and I decided I could go early to pray so we let the U of L volunteers take it from there.

Because I had to pick up our 4 wheelers after work, I had driven in my wife’s truck along with my double axle trailer. That made navigating in downtown Louisville a bit challenging but I was able to manage. One modification I did have to make was that I parked at the very end of the block from the abortion center and walked from there.

There were about 10 of us there and we outnumbered the clinic “escorts”. I chatted with my regular friends and gave some warm hugs to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ before starting my prayers. Which I have determined is my role there. While some of our volunteers “co-escort” those headed inside the clinic speaking words of truth and getting them to read some literature and consider alternatives in the “A Woman’s Choice” center next door (free ultrasound, abortion counseling, adoption assistance, etc), other volunteers pray and hold vigil. There was even a street preacher there who brought his little step stool soap box and proceeded to loudly proclaim the truth. I got me thinking about the various gifts of the Holy Spirit right there in front of that evil place. The street preacher boldly proclaimed the truth of God’s word. And while many mainline Christians are uncomfortable with that, especially as it relates to some of the damning verses in Scripture, the man was not speaking anything that was untrue. We ARE burdened with sin, we CANNOT save ourselves, and Jesus is our ONLY answer for true salvation. Other volunteers are bold in action walking along those who have come to end their baby’s life. They let them know of a heartbeat at 18 days. Of little hands and feet with unique fingerprints. Of risks of increased breast cancer, potential sterilization, and increased suicide. They also lovingly inform them of alternatives next door — free ultrasound, abortion counseling, adoption assistance — because, interestingly, the only “choice” behind the abortion center doors is death. Women don’t go in there to select from a host of various outcomes. The only option through those doors is death for the fetus…..and that doesn’t sound like “choice” to me. And then finally, there are those of us who silently pray and hold vigils. Several others are like me and only come down to pray. That is our only role. Others may preach, others may inform, others may convince, but I am down there to faithfully pray. And encourage my other brothers and sisters in Christ who are faithfully performing their roles and using their gifts. And I am glad that this was revealed to me because sometimes I will be praying there in front of the baby holocaust factory wondering why God doesn’t do anything against this evil. I wonder why aren’t my prayers effective. I wonder why can’t the lost, pregnant women see the hurt, pain and evil that they and their child will encounter behind the tinted doors. But then I realize that my God who can move mountains and who created everything DOES have a plan. I don’t need to know it; I just know that I have been called to be a small part of it. And my role is to pray and to encourage, so that is what I will do.

An interesting development also occurred as I was leaving Friday. A while ago I found out that the only male clinic escort — a guy about 55 years old — is named Conrad. For the last year I have been politely saying “Good morning” to him. If he is alone walking by, he will quietly and sheepishly say “good morning” back to me. He will not do this with anyone else around, but it is a nice olive branch so I always enjoy seeing him.

Well, this morning he and I had our clandestine “good morning”. But later when I was ready to leave to go to work, I noticed that he was walking down towards the end of the block looking for arrivers to escort. I figured my time was up and I was parked down that way anyway, so I followed him hoping to get in a “have a nice day”. He ended up going past my truck so I missed my opportunity….. or so I though. I jumped in the truck, started it, and rolled down the window because I saw he was headed back. I went to say “have a nice day” when he totally surprised me and came up to the passenger door. He asked if I had a landscaping business and what the trailer was for. I explained I had a farm and was picking up our 4 wheelers. He proceeded to say that he hunts deer — which started a 5 minute conversation of this weekend’s opening for modern gun. WOW! I could not believe we were able to talk about something in common for 5 minutes.

Soon enough he had to get back to the other workers before they declared him missing in action or collaborating with the enemy. But as I drove away, I gave all glory and thanks to God who gave me something in common and a potential future bridge with someone who an hour earlier was not someone on my list as seeing the light of Christ.

It is my hope that I can minister to Conrad so that he can see the love and light of Jesus. How that exactly is going to happen, I don’t know. But all I need to do is be faithful and show up every week. The Holy Spirit can then use me as He sees fit.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Tonight I was blessed enough to take my bride to an anniversary dinner in celebration of our elopement many, many years ago. I was going to meet her at our inexpensive restaurant of choice after work but we had some errands to do afterwards and we didn’t want two vehicles so I decided to come home and chauffeur her. I departed work a bit early and headed home for our date night. This would turn out to be fortuitous.

On our way down our long, two lane country road we started to hit some of the returning home traffic. I slowed down for a white truck that merged in front of me which also turned out to be fortuitous. Seconds later there was an oncoming Ford truck headed straight for the white truck in front of me in our lane. The white truck slowed way down and immediately dove for the small shoulder while also avoiding the ditch. I figured out what was going on and followed suit honking my horn while my wife gasped and grabbed the “oh $%!t” handle. The Ford truck veered back across the lane narrowly missing the white truck and us. I watched him as he passed us and the old man had a phone in his hand. I thought it odd that he was so focused on texting this far into our lane. I found it odder when he sideswiped a sign pole shattering his passenger mirror and ripping it from the truck. His truck came to rest hitting another sign post.

The white truck temporarily stopped, assessed the non-damage he had, and then proceeded on. I was in the same frame of mind thinking the Ford truck was just a very rude and distracted texting driver. However, the truck just stayed against the road sign on the side of the road which prompted me to dodge oncoming traffic and turn around to make sure the man was ok.

My wife remaining in our truck as I pulled up behind and turned on the hazards. I approached cautiously and was happy the driver’s window was halfway down. The old man did indeed have his phone in his hand and he was just gazing at it. I asked if he was ok and he replied with “What’s going on?”. It was at that point I realized that I had a situation on my hands. I quickly assessed the environment. Other than being on the side of the country road, there was no hazardous damage; no bleeding of the man; and no smoke, fire or liquids. And while there were some cars passing by, no one seemed to be interested in what was going on. I pulled out my phone and immediately dialed 911.

I let the helpful operator know I had a non-injury vehicle event with a medical situation. I found out the man’s name was Bob. He was very disoriented and incoherent but did know his name and age. I relayed that to the operator along with my physical location – which I was very surprised that she pretty much already knew based on my cellphone signal. (She had it down to a 100 yards.) She was dispatching EMS and I told her that I would stay with him until they arrived. She then gave me additional medical information in case his condition worsened.

Thank God that the fire station down the street responded in about 2 minutes. I had moved over to the passenger side window and secured the keys to his vehicle while keeping him calm and talking to him. I asked if he knew Jesus and, interestingly, he responded alertly with a resounding “Yes”. I comforted him and let him know that I and others would pray for him.

The fire truck pulled up right beside his truck blocking the eastbound lane. I updated the concerned firemen on the situation who immediately went to putting their skills to use. I handed the keys to one of them who also thanked me for stopping to render aid to the man. He confirmed that he was in a diabetic shock which mimics alcohol impaired behavior. I was happy that the old man was in good hands and took the fireman up on his offer to block traffic so I could get out onto the road and continue my evening with my bride.

I write this for several reasons. One is to seek prayers for Bob who I hope is recovering from his diabetic shock in the hospital. Another reason is to be an encouragement for others to get involved in situations that might not be what they seem. We should all be on the lookout for opportunities to help others who could use our help. So often the easy thing to do is just continue on with our lives or to let momentum keep us moving forward. Sometimes we must veer, turn around, or step outside our paths to offer aid to someone. The easy thing is to do nothing. I challenge those reading this to do the hard thing and get outside of yourself and get involved.

An additional reason for writing this is to highlight God in action. Now many of you might dismiss the facts that I am going to highlight as mere happenstance. However, my faith tells me otherwise. (Remember a popular faith quote – “Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous”.)

Originally, I was going to meet my wife at the restaurant and neither one of us would have been near that area. Even once we were on the same path, the white truck merged in front of us seconds before that event which most likely saved an impact at that site. And while the white truck and others who passed by witnessing the event continued on, the Ford truck resting against the road sign caused me enough pause to think that something was not right and to turn around to check. Had I not done that, the way the Ford truck was on the side of the road made it look like he was just sitting there waiting for someone and others might not have even stopped for quite a while on that quiet country road. That is a very dangerous situation when someone is in a diabetic shock.

So get out there and get involved. Be alert in your day to day life. Everything might not be as it seems. All it takes is for you to get out of yourself and love your neighbor. You just might make someone’s day. You just might save someone’s life.

Happy Anniversary Mrs. A Slowerpace!!!!! Thanks for being with me during our adventure.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I just got done watching this sermon from Francis Chan and it is VERY impactful.

All I can say is “Wow!”…..and go make the changes necessary in my life.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net