Dean = Hope

A few weeks ago, John and I had an interesting encounter while grabbing coffee at a nearby Roasters.

We had stayed inside for about an hour, kicking back and sipping on hot tea and coffee. The evening was chilly and windy, so after finishing our drinks, we made a fast exit toward our warm car. Out of nowhere, a man comes upon us and strikes up a conversation (I say out of nowhere, for that is how it seemed to me--apparently he had been standing inside the Roasters just near the doorway attempting to stay warm without bothering any other patrons--John had seen him there). He began to ask John questions, one of them being if we knew of a man that frequented this Roasters--"his name was Jared and he was a Christian." We told him we did not know Jared, and then asked if there was something we could help him with.

The man began to tell John about his struggles in life--how he had 3 DWI's, was just fresh out of prison, how he rides the bus every day in search of a job, etc.
It was amazing how he just felt so comfortable sharing with John. Let me say that this was not your ordinary down-on-his-luck kind of guy. He was genuinely struggling, definitely trying, and assuredly reaching out for help. Not once did he ask John for money or food. He simply enjoyed talking.

After about 30 minutes of conversation, we invited him to get in our warm vehicle and take a load off (we were having date night, so no children were present). He was so thankful just to have a heater blowing in his face. We offered to drive him to wherever it was that he was staying, and he agreed.
After stopping for some food, we began the drive across town. Apparently he was living in a not-so-good part of town, with just a sleeping bag and plastic tent to his name.

The interesting part was the drive.

I sat in the back and just listened to him continue his talk with John. I was amazed at how much he had to say. Apparently he was lonely....and very tired. He kept apologizing over and over for being a burden to us, and that broke my heart. He also continued to say how embarassed he was about his current situation, and the fact that he did not really have a way to keep himself groomed or clean.
As we drove, he told John more life stories--and that his name was Dean. He turned to John and told him that he looked familiar, and what was weird was I was thinking the same thing about Dean the whole time. More on that later....

There was one story he told that stuck with me.

Dean asked if we went to church anywhere. He then told us which church he had been visiting for a few weeks now, and then he told John about how he liked the Old Testament Bible Characters (i.e. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, etc) the best. When John asked him which story was his favorite, he replied:
*loosely quoted*

"I like the one about a man---oh, I can't remember what his name was--maybe Abraham? (It was actually Elijah, but we didn't correct him) Anyway, he visited a widow and he told her to go make him some bread to eat. She didn't want to because all she had left was enough to feed her and her son one more time. He told her to do it anyway, and she did. Then her food and oil didn't dry up. I think it's cool that the woman always had food from that point on--she would never run out. I want that someday."

As he finished his story, we arrived in an alley to which he had directed us. Dean fought back the emotions and he grabbed his sack of food and beverage in preparation to leave the car. He commented on how long it had been since he had felt the warmth of a heater and had food in his belly. I think he said it had been days since he had eaten. He was overly thankful for the ride and the food, and it seemed as though he just wanted to linger a bit longer and talk. Feeling the need for sleep catching up with him, he stepped out of the car, shut the door, and disappeared into the dark alley.

Dean has been on my mind every day since then. I wondered if he was okay. Was he sick? Hurting? Hungry? Tired? Alive?

Something about his favorite Bible story hit me too. At first I thought it very odd that THAT one was his favorite--after all, it's not well known (1Kings 17:8-16 if you are interested in reading it). You know what though? It gave Dean hope. Hope that he might someday be like that woman and his food would not run out.

I am not sure if Dean was real or not. Let me explain.
I feel like he might have been an angel. I know you hear that sometimes about strangers, but I really think it applies here. His familiarity was overwhelming. His eyes were kind, his spirit humble, his heart very real. We had expected to see him recently again (or hoping we'd see him is more like it) since we were in his neighborhood, but he never showed up. I worried about it when I got home, hoping and praying that he had found a job and was moving on up instead of being stuck in his rut. Amazingly, a sense of peace came over me, and I was calmed by the thought that Dean was only here for a short time to speak into my life what I needed to hear.

Thinking that I might just have seen an angel gives ME hope. Having a man like Dean remind me that there is, in fact, hope left in this world was more than I ever bargained for when John and I invited him to take a car ride with us.
I can't wait to someday find out--is he still here? Was he real? My answers will come--I'm sure of it.

Mel