Those who crossed my path yesterday:

• A woman who’s been a crack addict for 20 years and seems to have finally gotten her life back on track. She’s discovered her 3 children who’d been given up for adoption years ago and was told they’d forgiven her. She was going to meet one of them for the first time since he was 9 months old tomorrow.
• A woman who’s alone, frightened, depressed and feels worthless to her family, friends and church. Thirty minutes of sobbing. “Why can’t God pull me out of this.!”
• A gentleman who’s been seriously ill for over ten years. He’s lost his job, his income, his self-respect, his stability. Anxiety so overwhelms him that he is unable to function, capable of only sitting in a chair in a dark room, frightened out of his mind of nothing. He told me today he’d found a new power in, of all places, a church, and that has surprised him. He was smiling for the first time I’ve known him in more than a year.
• A father who feels helpless to do anything for his young son who has asthma.
• A senior citizen who has been incapcitated due to health issues. Crying and trying desperately not to [“I’m so embarassed to cry like this”], she wanted to know if her life was over now that she was approaching 75.
• A 30-something female who doesn’t know if she can continue on. “Depression haunts me, waits for me wherever I go.”

Interesting those who the Jesus Lord puts in front of you, isn’t it?