Robin and Sherry

Each time I come to New York I have had "that" moment that changes my life and I make at least one life-long friend.

I have now made at least 2 of those life-long friendships and had "that" moment.

Robin-Union Square

We were out at Union Square setting up a prayer station--I have to admit, I wasn't sure what the response would be, but I was willing to go with the flow.

At a point, Jamie and I headed to the bathroom where we met Robin.  Robin was tidying herself up -- in the reflection of the mirror I could see she was having a tough time stading up.  She was weaving left and right, and her knees kept buckling out from under her.

I saw she had left her glasses on the counter, so I said, "Dear, are these your glasses?" and handed them to her.  She said yes and accepted them from me.  We began a dialogue, that reduced me to tears.

Robin lives in a shelter with 250 other women.  I am not slagging women, but seriously?  I can't imagine the hell that must be.  I can't see 20 women living together in harmony!  She works a job early in the morning caring for a handicapped child, she then goes to Union Square to sleep.  Standing up in the corner.  Then she heads out to her second job where she does dishes in a diner until late at night.

She told me it had been 33 months since her last good nights sleep.

My heart broke for her.  She didn't have enough money to rent a place of her own--so she was stranded in a shelter.

Jamie and I prayed for her, and while we were praying she went back to bobbing and weaving.  I honestly thought she was going to fall asleep on me.  She then prayed.  She knew what she was talking about and who she was talking too.

It made me realize that no matter how "hard" my life gets, I will never have as hard a time as Robin.  Next time I complain about being tired, I will remember, I have nothing to complain about.

I took a picture of Robin and I told her that I would post it on my fridge and pray for her every day.

Sherry-Relief Bus

I have wondered if I should actually post this--I am not going to do this for my own glory--but rather for the Glory of God.

I was helping at the Relief bus serving soup, buns and apples, handing out clothes, but more importantly talking to the homeless we serve.

We have found over the years that the population of homeless people are actually craving conversation.  Someone to get down on their knees, look them in the eye and have a conversation.

I walked out of the bus and I saw Sherry standing against the fence.  The mom in me kicked in.  I asked her if she had eaten some soup, she had, and so started a conversation, that again, like Robin broke my heart.

She had told me how she moved to NYC for the sake of a man and he dumped her, she was moving out of an apartment when her stuff had been stolen, she lived in a shelter, her teeth were a mess, she was recently off crutches for a broken ankle.  She was being cared for--in care as soon as she was able to be "mobile" enough they asked her to leave.  With all her belongings in a bag too heavy to carry and use the crutches she was shown the door.  The "bed" was for someone worse off than her.

She ended up leaving her stuff at the shelter and took all she could manage to carry.  The bare essentials.  She asked me if I knew where someone could get shoes.

I didn't know.

She then showed me her feet, her present shoes 2 sizes too small, her feet were *covered* in blisters that I felt should've been cared for by a medical professional. 

She said socks were hard to come by and she was waiting her turn for the relief bus to call her name so she could see if she could get some new socks.  She only had 1 pair.

I asked her what size her shoes were, I felt that we were the same size.

She said, 8 sometimes 9.

I slipped off my shoes and socks and handed them to her.  She refused the help at first, but I insisted.  She put on my sock and my right shoe.  She had the look and the sound of a woman -- exhausted from her day, slipping in to her bath.  Ahhhhhh.

She put on my other sock and shoe.  She slipped them off again.  She looked at me and said, no one has been as kind in NYC as I have been to her, or has she felt as "mothered" by someone in years.  I gave her band-aids, she decided to go clean her feet and put on her new shoes.

I started up the street, suddenly aware that I was shoeless.  It seemed so appropriate at the time, but then I suddenly felt so naked...at least my feet did.

I went through the rest of the day -- barefoot in NYC -- aware that I needed to watch where I walked....and what I was walking on.  :)

We got back to NYSUM and I wrote the blog for our team--it felt like I was being stabbed in ankle.  I got up stairs and realized my leg was very swollen from the hip to my toe.  Fred was chaffed, red, raw, uncomfortable and swollen. 

I was scared.  This is a new "thing" in this whole Fred business and I can say, I don't like it one bit.

I realized rather quickly that this "thing" is just a "thing" meant to distract me, scare me, annoy me and make me less productive or encouraging to the girls I am here with.

I went to bed with my leg elevated, praying for release.

Today, for our day off I have walked all over the city, I have had no pain, no swelling and I am feeling really great.

The victory is mine.