Lingerdog's World

On the way home from church this evening I saw people sitting on a grave, probably talking about the person buried there.

I lost a friend this week named Ron. He was a friend to me but a great friend to my brother. He was one of those bigger than life people that come along every so often. Ron was always smiling, and it's shocking that he is gone so soon. I wish I had said more the last time I talked to him. I made a mix cd once, he wanted a copy because he liked the songs on it. We played cards, and it seemed like we were always facing each other down across the table. I remember one of the first times I played, I didn't know how to play but picked the game up quickly. I played without fear. He said he liked how I played. He'll be missed.

I saw an overweight woman in a motorized wheelchair with a baby in her arms.

I drove past run down houses.

I saw an alcoholic father who is almost the man he used to be, on the days he doesn't drink.

Broken people are everywhere. And I can't fault others for this because I used to do it to, just drive past them without a thought given to their condition or what struggles they might face in life.

There are people out there dealing with loss, unemployment, fear, self loathing, regret, pain both physical, mental and emotional. Largely they are ignored.

But there was this man named Jesus 2000 years ago that saw the broken people, he came so they could be healed. We as Christians have largely forgotten that was what Christ came for, we have started to believe He was here to judge. Read what He did though, read what was written about Him before He came and after He left.

He came to set captives free.

That's why I knock on doors that holds who knows what behind them, because though their life might not change that much after salvation, they will be free to enjoy the fruits of the spirit. Though the world might try to bind them, they are free.

They don't have to be broken.

I saw one last broken person tonight.

His face is plain, hard to read as I look at him. His hair is neither long nor short, but it needs to be longer or shorter because right now it doesn't look particularly well. He is quick with a smile, but bashful with it at times. He has struggled with some things in his life he never thought he would have to, but he says he's getting through them with God. He has friends, a few are close and one new one he isn't always sure how to react to. He told a friend a lie he hasn't corrected yet because he was ashamed of what they might think of him. He has lived his life worried about what others thought of him even though he claims he doesn't care. He thinks he doesn't look good enough. Good enough for what? To date really. He obsesses sometimes about what it would take to look like what women want a man to look like, because in his head for all too long he has been convinced that women want A., B. or C. and all his life he's been a X. He wonders why things went the way they did with his wife, he wonders if he's so smart why he didn't see it coming. He has so many insecurities he wonders what people would think if they knew every last one of them. He wonders sometimes if the things he writes make him seem weird. I looked at this broken man who has been letting God heal him and I smile, he smiles back. I wave and he waves back. I stare into the eyes before me in the mirror and say, it's okay to let the brokenness go.

A friend posted this song to my facebook and it just smacks me in the face with what I'm talking about, and how God sees us.