Day 9: Paul

We left late today, as I wanted to finish all the blogs that I had started and not finished. We had to be at Atonement Lutheran Church for Randy's Feed and Read at 5 o'clock and it was 2:30pm. Heather still had to get her driver's licence renewed and I wanted to pick up some post cards, so we were kind of rushing, and I confess I wasn't thinking much about my Lenten blessing for the day.

However, as we got into Depoe Bay we saw a man on a bike with a little weathered terrier and a cart that read "Need Food". Seeing his cart flew me so instantly into flash backs of the vanishing man from the 2nd day of Lent that I suddenly remembered the food that still sat on the floor, in the back from that day, forgotten until this moment. WOAH!

I checked to see if it was the same man, but it wasn't. How amazing! So many parallels!

I threw up my hands, "Sis! That's it! God has already supplied the food!" And I parked.

We grabbed the food and the dog food and jumped out of the car. The man was talking to somebody in a vehicle that had pulled up and we waited to hand him the food. He turned to us, extremely energetic, annoyed that his dog was barking, and said, "Oh she won't eat that stuff, but I'll take the food."

We both stepped back. Then I stepped forward again and handed him the bags of food. He took them and tucked them into the wagon and turned to talk with us. And then he never did stop after that. I think even when we left he was still talking to us. He was funny! Angry, but he had a lot of funny stories to tell. I asked him how he ended up on a bike in the cold and he told me his whole recent history. He was on his way down from Alaska in a lawn mower and got hit by a car. After that he got another bike which also was destroyed when he was hit by a second car. Finally he had purchased this bike somewhere in Northern Oregon.

He laughed but with extreme bitterness. He was angry. Extremely. He asked us, "So, are you real religious people then."

"We are Christians, if that's what you mean."

"Well I ain't savable! Sorry! God's done too many **** things to me, excuse my French."

I wish I had told him that we weren't there to save him, only to feed him, and that the saving was up to God, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I was dead in the middle of an extremely unexpected turn of events.

When I did finally catch my balance I just asked him questions and we talked for probably 30 minutes with him. We found out that his name was Paul. I thought, "What a great name." Finally we made our exit and he said, "Sorry you couldn't save me. But I'm just not savable."

What do you say to that? Argue with him? I don't know!

I finally just turned to him and said what came to my mind. "Paul... are you lovable?"

"Oh boy, you shoulda met this girl..."

"Not like that, Paul. That isn't what I'm asking. Are you a lovable person. Can you be loved?"

"Well yeah! Everybody loves me. I'm a lovable guy."

"Well, then, you are savable!"

Just then somebody came and handed Paul a twenty dollar bill and we left. God was diligently after this man! Blessings were coming from every side.

As we were driving off and I was thinking, "perhaps we were only supposed to hand him the food and bless him anonymously," the realization of his link to Paul of the Bible struck me. We prayed for him. We prayed that, just as Saul, a stubborn, angry man against God had met Jesus on the road, that Paul would encounter his Savior in such an astounding way that he would be turned and claimed for the Kingdom.

Thank you for providing yet again... make me better at that. Teach me to walk more in your guidance and will, God, through your Holy Spirit, and not just my own zealousness. For then I can't be knocked off balance. Thanks for being God, and saving me again and again and again.