Original Entry Date: October 1, 2016
Written by: Jonathan Stufft
We approached a home that we had delivered to the previous month.
We knew they had need, and that there was a very large family living in the home. When we rang the doorbell, we were greeted with familiarity. However, there was a tone of sadness. The young girl informed us that her step-dad had just learned of his brother’s death that morning.
Her step-dad came to the door and was highly agitated and upset. He was pacing and fidgeting endlessly. He kept saying, “What am I going to do?” He never even really acknowledged us. We stood in awkward silence looking for the right words. We didn’t have much to offer but our presence.
His step-daughter turned to us and said, “Do ya’ll pray with people and stuff?”
My friend, Jeff, didn’t quite hear her, so he asked her to repeat it. “Do ya’ll pray with people?” she said again.
Missing it a second time, Jeff asked one more time for clarity. “Do ya’ll pray with people and stuff? My step-dad, he likes that… when people pray with him. Can you do that?”
Jeff and I both responded with, “Yeah. We can do that,” knowing full well that neither one of us was wanting to lead the charge.
Jeff volunteered me. I asked for his brother’s name, and we stood on the dilapidated porch together, holding hands, as I prayed for his family at the same time that I prayed to God to give me words. We exchanged hugs that could have been between siblings with this man that we only knew from one five-minute meeting the month prior.
When Jeff and I got back in the truck, we both teared up, and we knew that we were called to more than just handing out food. We were called to relationship.