The editor talks with you

How do you respond to challenges?

When Katie and I stopped for a light at Bush River Road, he was standing there with a hand-made sign. It identified him as a homeless veteran, When God shows you something like this, He doesn’t give you much time to respond. Before the light turned green, I lowered the window and handed him some money. “Christ Central Ministries has a shelter for homeless veterans in Lexington,” I said. “What’s that?” he asked. “Christ Central Ministries, as in Jesus Christ,” I said and repeated it. “Christ Central Ministries,” he said, “Got it. Thank you, sir.” I would have picked him up but with Katie in the car it did not seem wise.

You will see the homeless on the streets on downtown Columbia despite the work of Christ Central Ministries, the Oliver Gospel Mission and others. In an isolated place like Bush River Road at I-20, it is a rare sight. How he got there is a mystery. And how we came to be there to help him is another mystery. Katie and I were on our way to the SC Press Association’s annual Publishers’ Roundtable. When we arrived we found that it had been cancelled. Had we known, we would not have been at that intersection nor would we have been able to help one of God’s children in a time of need.

The next morning, God awakened me. “What are you going to do about my homeless veteran?” He said. He didn’t say it quite like that but His message came in loud and clear. What was I going to do? I called our friend Ted. Ted is an active volunteer with Rev. Jimmy Jones and Christ Central Ministries. He listened to my story and we both agreed we hoped the veteran had found someone to take him to Lexington. We also agreed it was strange that the man would be out there on Bush River Road. “I see a lot of them downtown or on Huger Street,” Ted said. “I give them money. Maybe they will use it for food or maybe not. Even if they buy wine or beer, maybe it will make them feel good for a little while.” Ted said Christ Central Ministries now has 3 shelters for homeless veterans. They teach them skills, help them find jobs and gain the ability to live independently. “I’ll give you some of my cards,” he said. “You can give them the cards if you see more homeless. They can call me.”

Despite the mysteries behind this 30 second encounter with a veteran, here’s what I suspect God was up to. We are works in progress. Each day He gives us opportunities and challenges. The opportunities are to help His children. The challenges are what we do with the opportunities. Will respond to be better today than we were yesterday? Our friend Adrian Miller says his No. 1 goal each day is to be a better Adrian Miller than he was yesterday. Do you think God didn’t let us know the roundtable was called off so we would have the opportunity to be at Bush River Road when someone needed help? Yes, I know it sounds far-fetched. I don’t believe our homeless veteran was an angel in disguise but I accept that it is a possibility. Angel or another of God’s children down on his luck, it doesn’t matter. God was testing us.

Next: Love and lagniappe

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