Loving the Least of These

Tonight we had TAG, but this week we did our annual haunted house for all the residents, which is always a big hit. I got to be one of the people that walked through it with the kids which is always an interesting task when they all try to hide behind you, hold your hand, and bury their face into you. But its always enjoyable for sure. :)

Im going to just go ahead and say that in general when it comes to TAG and other events like it, I'm not the best at just walking up to people that arent usually there and talking to them and getting to know them, but its something I'm trying to work on. That being said, tonight wasnt easy for me, there were lots of new people and that can be a little overwhelming. But tonight was different from any other night, because towards the end of the evening a lady walked up with her two boys who obviously didnt have much, and Harriet{one of the residents} started asking her if they had figured out anything concerning her brother. I was within ear-shot of this and turned to listen, expecting to hear something along the lines of her brother having to go to court for something, or being in trouble with the law, because thats usually what you hear around a low-income housing development. But I was far from right on this one. As the lady starts talking I stepped a little closer to listen to her tell the story of her 9 year old brother that passed away last Thursday,a week ago today. Her brothers biological mom {he was her half brother} did many, and I dont use that term lightly, drugs while she was pregnant with him. He ended up living with this girls mom, and he was autistic. One day early last week he complained to his teacher of chest pain, and she basically ignored it and told him to just sit back down. He later went into multiple seizures for a few hours and was taken to a childrens hospital out of town. Last Wednesday he seemed to being doing much better, and was playing and doing all the things a normal 9 year old would do, but the next day he passed away, and they cant figure out what happened to him. By this point in the story she was talking directly to me, and told me that her two sons were having a really hard time with it because they were very close with him they all LOVED to go camping and just be boys, her oldest son was particularly close to him because he was the same age as him.

And as she poured out her heart to me tonight something inside me changed, I cant even pinpoint it yet, I just know that it changed my heart tonight. Maybe its that Im learning that if you dont take the time to talk to people, even those you dont know at all, you might be passing up a chance to encourage someone, or to love on them, or just simply be there for them. Maybe Im learning more about what it looks like to love people who dont look like me, I dont know, its just one of those cool God things, where you know hes working on your heart. But I do know that I hope that something tonight was encouraging to them, I hope they walked away from our haunted house night knowing that they are loved and welcome here, that they dont have to do this alone. I pray that somewhere between the haunted house, the group of people from church, and the chips and drinks we handed out, that they saw Jesus in us. I hope she saw that this is a safe place, that she will be loved, and welcomed with open arms. I pray that something tonight let her know that there is hope, when the sacred is torn from your life.

Tonight I beg you to storm Heavens gates with prayers for this family, pray that they would find comfort, and healing as they deal with the loss of a loved one.