~ 31st Day ~
Restless Night...Venice Beach...Stones vs. The Rock...Sound Sleep.
Last night did not end with Miss Ellis. I did finally crawl into Tumbler's backseat bed, but at 1:30am I was awoken by noises outside the cracked window where my head was nearby. My eyes stayed closed but ears were wide open. The sounds were getting louder and I couldn't decipher what the scraping and crunching noises were... except that they were being made by a person 'cause I heard the shuffling of their feet. Admittedly, I was kinda scared. The person was there right by my window for a few minutes. And then I heard this loud crackling and "Copy that, I'm by the tower... be right there." Someone else was coming and I didn't know whether to sit up and jump in the driver's seat or keep pretending to sleep. I chose the later and after a minute that felt much longer, I heard the person start walking away. After waiting a bit, I propped myself up to look through the crack between the seat and the side and panel. The person was a man who was cleaning up the parking lot with a broom, dustpan and big bag of garbage. Glad he was not creeping around my truck any longer, I layed back down... wide awake. Another 5 minutes passed and then I heard the sound of a vehicle, a door slam, and then a knock on the driver's side window. Maybe he would see that I was in a deep sleep and leave me be. Negative. Another set of knocking. I did my best impression of a person waking up from a deep, peaceful sleep. The man was a security cop for the mall and I knew the last chapter of our short story together. Taking my time crawling up front, I opened my door and said "Good Evening, sir." He was surprisingly kind and had a gentle voice when he said, "Ma'am, you can't sleep here overnight. I'm sorry... you have to move." I told him that I was traveling and didn't have a place to sleep tonight, so the mall looked safe. Gave him my best "but it's not safe out there" look, but he again apologized and said it was the mall's rules, not his. He told me I could park on the side streets around the mall. My exaggerated sad eyes were not going to let me stay, so I told him to have a good night and thought about giving him a rock, but didn't. This guy was not the average security cop.
I did what he said and drove to the nearest side street. Parked and not feeling as scared awake, I made the transition to the back again... but the transition back to sleep would not come for a long time. Even though it wasn't a far move, the surroundings were completely different with cars driving past me and people walking on the sidewalk next to me. It was late, but it was LA. I prayed myself to sleep this night and would wake early.
I was in the area called Crenshaw but had no idea where I was in proximity to the coast, so I punched in my today's mission field, Venice Beach, into the GPS. Once there and parked, I strapped pulled out my backpack and walked several blocks to the main strip. Venice Beach isn't just a nighttime venue... it's all day and everyday. I spent the first hour simply walking and observing all the people, clothes, costumes and behavior. There were so many people I wanted to talk to and give a rock to, but knowing God had specific ones that He wanted me to stop for, I kept walking and praying for guidance and boldness in this foreign land.
The first person I stopped for was Sharon. She had a little bird named Scooter who was perched on a tiny skateboard. He was her pet, but also her source of income. Money was collected for pictures taken of Scooter and we made a swap of picture of them for a rock with "Scooter the skateboarding bird."
The second person who I felt led to talk to was Dan. He was selling pieces of wood with ocean scenes painted on them. Though the sadness that was painted on his face and in his body language was what drew me to crouch next to him. I asked him about his artwork, where he was from, where he now lived, and how I could pray for him. Dan has been a roaming wanderer for most of his life... searching for that which he doesn't even know he's searching for. I told him about Jesus and that his search for something was really a searching for Someone... The Savior and Rescuer of our restless hearts. Gave Dan a rock that had "There is a bright lining in everyone's story" written on it. For the first time, he smiled weakly... but smiled, none the less. My heart ached for Dan, but I could not rescue him. That is God's job and I prayed that Dan would open his crying heart to the the One who collects all our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).
Onward up the Venice strip, I saw a girl sitting on the sidewalk, selling stones. The variety, colors and shapes of her collection caught my eye, but she was the one I stopped for. She told me all about the power and healing benefits of the stones. I listened, but was praying for her the whole time she talked. Her name was Cooper and her boyfriend, Bear, came and sat down while I was picking up a stone in the shape of a heart. I traded her a rock with a heart and "Love Rocks" on it for the stone she made into a necklace for me. When the rock was handed to her, I turned it over to the message on the back, telling her about the True Rock and Healer... though in a way that didn't sound preachy. I didn't want to push her away and potentially make Copper and Bear put up a wall by putting down what they believed and lived by. Even though I don't believe in stones holding power or having healing properties, I wasn't going to compromise the truth and co-sign their confusion. They both listened to the message of the rock and though they may still believe what they do, the seed was planted (or watered if the truth had already been shared with them before). It's important not to judge or patronize others when ministering. Our job is not to change their hearts... that is God's job and He does it far better than we could ever attempt to do.
Michael was the next soil to drop a seed into. He was taking donations for a homemade Jamaican oil that was used for incense sticks. Truly, the scent was sweet and I've handed a few out since traded Micheal a rock that said "We all have a story" for a packet of them. This man's story was so interesting and Jamaica was revisited once again... but from his eyes. His roots are deep there, and I was grateful that the my root of bitterness and resentment from the experience I had there has been pulled up with forgiveness.
There was a sidebar conversation that occurred between Michael, myself and a Rabbi Priest that was just as much for the Rabbi as it was for my new Jamaican friend. He told me his name, but I didn't write it on my arm with the other's names. He knew Michael and he shook his hand, then put his hand on my lower back, which later Micheal would apologize for. I was fine with the gesture cause I recognized the motive yet wasn't going to fall for it I had an overall uneasy feeling in my stomach about him. The Rabbi told me about some classes he taught... some for me, some for women as well as one-on-one teaching for many of them. I listened to what he taught on and then I said, "Those are interesting things. Thanks for sharing them with me. I'm sold out to Jesus, our Rock and Savior. He has made you with a heart that was made to love Him." With that, he shrugged and walked away without another hand placed on my lower back. After he was out of earshot, Micheal said, "Why did you say that? You and I both know he doesn't believe that Jesus is King and the Savior." I then told Michael that even when others don't believe in the truth, that doesn't mean we shouldn't speak the truth. He then said, "Oh, like the verse that says 'deny Me before men, and I will deny you before my Heavenly Father.'(Matthew 10:32-33) Hmmm, I get that, Katie. Even though someone doesn't believe the truth, we shouldn't be silent about sharing it with them. Thanks for reminding me that we need to be bold about Jesus." We embraced and it was now time to pull the straps of my backpack and move on.
On the walk back on the strip, I handed out the granola bars and bottles of water that had been packed for people who needed them. There were a few homeless guys who were in such need. All of them were laying on the sidewalk or next to small buildings. They were literally cooking in the hot sun... their skin burnt and peeling off layers that were not the top layer. Venice beach, with all it's outlandish costumes, performances and personalities (people who were purposely wanting attention), was shocking in many ways. I was also saddened by the people trying to recruit people into getting their "green card" (to purchase legal pot) because they were targeting teenagers more than anyone else. But what shocked me most was not those who wanted to shock others, rather that these people on the streets who others were literally stepping over were not even given a second glance. One guy who I gave a bottle of water to, was so dehydrated, he was practically immobilized. I'll never forget his face when the opened bottle was placed in his hand and started chugging it. Certainly, he had made choices that day that didn't help his current situation, but we all can make the choice to help someone who isn't able to help themselves at the moment. That doesn't mean we are condoning their behavior... it means we see their need and try to do something to help them. Even if they continue to made poor choices after we reach out to them, we are doing the right thing. My friends, try to meet the need of at least one person every day. You might start to not only in-joy helping others, but you might also start to look forward to it. Keep your eyes open for these moments to take your eyes off ourselves and onto those most choose not to notice.
It was time to depart from this gnarly mission field. Inland LA was the next location... and it would be a stellar one for the next couple days. My friends Andrewand Kayla were expecting me at some point of this journey, and tonight was the arrival time to knock on the door of Kayla's apartment. I stopped at a little flower shop to buy a bouquet for her and gave the owner a rock cause his job was to make other peoples' day brighter and I wanted him to know that he was special too. It felt so good to know tonight I would be in the safety of a home and with sweet friends. I will tell you more about this amazing couple, both individually and collectively, in the next posts. They are treasures to my soul. I would sleep well tonight... and no one told me I had to move on and sleep somewhere else.
We are witnessing every moment of every day.
Whether words, actions or responses,
Our lives are sharing our faith.
Who or what we believe in.
People are watching.
And listening.
Soldier of God vs. Soldier of Self.
~Unshakable Peace, Planting and Purpose~
cling to the Rock
Psalm 18:1-2
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