Things don't always work out like you wanted or expected.....
April 10, 2023 - Letters from Dennis – UPDATE
For those of you who have not heard, our friend Dennis was released from jail on Thursday, March 30th. What a day that was. Steve got the call and he said, “Come on….there’s someone that I know that you want to go and see”. It had been a terribly long and exhausting day, as most Thursday’s are, and I initially balked at the thought of having to put my shoes back on and going somewhere else. However, all Steve had to say was the word “jail” and I was up and running.
When we pulled up, we found Dennis sitting at the picnic table with no shoes, but smiling from ear to ear. After hugs and pictures, we took him to the shelter and got him some shoes and then got him checked in at the shelter. Afterwards, we brought him home with us and we ate, laughed and talked about the mercy of God and how it was a miracle that God had spared him from going to Columbia.
After a sweet time of fellowship, we took him back to the shelter and we began the process of setting up appointments with social security, eye doctors and probation. Steve helped by getting his bicycle road ready and by taking him to the store to get reading glasses and pencils so that he could continue his writing.
It is at this point that I wish I could say that Dennis is doing well and that he is thriving in his new walk with Christ, but I cannot. Dennis was unable to cope with his new found "freedom“ and unfortunately, succumbed to the only things and people “familiar” to him, in order to deal with his anxiety, pain, fear etc. Dennis continues to deal with immense emotional pain. He came by the café a few days later to confess to me what he had done and my heart literally broke in two. I will not lie. I was angry, I was hurt, I was frustrated and a host of a hundred other emotions were going through my mind. Personally, I wanted to wring his neck and then walk away forever. Steve and I had invested a lot of time, money, and prayers into him. We had even asked countless people to pray and write to Dennis as a way to encourage him. Yeah, to say I was disappointed was an understatement.
However, there were lessons learned and that is ALWAYS good. Now before you assume that the “lessons I learned” were things like, “don’t invest in people that don’t deserve it like addicts, the ungrateful, the selfish, those that feel entitled, the weird, the unlovely” etc., I must tell you that this is NOT what I have learned.
Here are but a couple of things that God has been teaching me through this whole experience:
1. Do NOT give up on those that God has placed in my life, no matter what. Keep praying. Keep loving and when asked to specifically do something for someone, do it.
2. No one is too far gone from the reach of the Father’s hand. No one.
3. No one truly understands someone else’s pain, except for the Father. I need to be patient with those that God brings into my life.
4. I need to view ALL situations through the eyes of the Spirit, and NOT through what I can see naturally.
5. Finally, I need to learn to love like Jesus. I need to love people whether they are good, bad or just plain ugly in their actions/re-actions to life situations. Just LOVE and let God deal with the heart. Do what God has called me to do and leave the results up to him.
Steve and I did exactly what Jesus asked us to do. Did we get the results that we wanted or expected? No. At least not right now. You see…..as frustrated, angry, and hurt as we are, we’re not giving up on Dennis. We battle daily for Dennis in the Spirit. We see that God has a purpose and a plan for Dennis and his story. However, Dennis has to be able to see that for himself.
Final thoughts – yesterday after all the celebrations, I was sitting in my chair looking out my window when I saw Dennis walk by. He had his head down and was pushing his bicycle. He looked so sad. I was reflecting on that this morning during my quiet time and God impressed upon my heart this truth. Just as
Dennis walked by the house of the very people that had offered him, and still offers him, unconditional love and acceptance, we ALL at times continue to do the same with Jesus. Jesus, daily holds out his hand and asks us to simply trust and obey. Yet we continue to listen to the lies of Satan and miss out on all that Jesus has promised us through His Word. You see, you don’t have to be an addict, homeless, a criminal etc to “walk past” the very one that can offer us help in our personal situations. Stop walking, and instead turn to the one that is a “very present help in times of trouble”. Psalm 46:10
We ask that you continue to pray for Dennis. If you would like, write to him and let him know that you are STILL "battling for him", please feel free to do so. He will eventually come back in to see us and I will gladly give him your letters. Thanks so much!
