Pray for a guy named Larry
Wow has it really been almost a month since I’ve posted last??
Yep, I just haven’t had time for blogging lately. I haven’t even been reading them.
Well, last night we moved our college service to a downtown park just outside one of the colleges here. We had some things get in the way, the stage didn’t get set up because stuff came up, we almost didn’t have bathrooms because I discovered last minute you have to pay the city $75 to open them. I forgot the hotdog buns and had to go get them. Then on the way to the park I realized the hotdogs and burgers were still in the fridge at the office. Yet another delay in setting up. Once we got to the park we decided to use a gazebo because there just wasn’t enough time to setup a stage. Soooo I had to ask people to please move because we were setting up a band. The $75 actually reserved the gazebo too.
So anyway, everything worked out. The band got setup, food got cooked and eaten, and people in the park actually stopped to listen to the band. It was pretty cool worshiping in public, unashamedly.
This guy, named Larry, came by looking for some cigarette money. He had been drinking or something so it was very hard to understand what he was saying.  I told him I didn’t have money to give him but he was more than welcome to have a burger or a hot dog or both.  He left with two burgers and a couple cokes.
Later after the service we played a game of kick ball. You know, even though the team I was on lost, that was pretty fun. So after kickball we are packing things up getting ready to leave and Larry comes back. He wanted money for cigarettes again but then asked if we could pray for him. A couple of us stopped, listened, and prayed for him. He just got out of jail you see and had no where to live. He told me he hopes he can do better. Stop doing what he’s been doing so maybe God will love him. What a moment… I told him… You know Larry, it doesn’t matter what you are doing or have done. God doesn’t want you to change just for him to love you. He knows how hard it is to change on your own. He made you, he loves you right now, right here, today… exactly the way you are. There’s nothing you can do to change yourself to make God love you more. All he wants is for you to love him and ask him to help you. We told him about Jesus. How he already paid the price and how even though he was physically free from jail, God was offering real freedom. Through teary eyes, he said he wanted to believe that. But I could see, there was something there, not allowing him to believe it was true, even though he so wanted to believe.
Anna asked if he knew Jesus and had he asked him into his life… Larry said he did when he was young. He didn’t want to go beyond that right now.
I know this blog doesn’t reach hundreds of readers a day or anything… but for those who do read it. Say a prayer for Larry. For his freedom and for him to open his heart and respond to the call of the Holy Spirit.
The whole night, praying through the stumbling blocks, praising and singing with the band, the message, all of it… put me exactly where I needed to be to talk to Larry.
