I found God in the WalMart Parking lot

[WRideout]

I picked up "George" (not his real name) in front of the house he shared with several other guys. George was a young guy in his twenties, with a good sense of humor, and a hard worker. He had also suffered from a terrible childhood that had him in placement with foster care, following years of abuse. He had some mental issues and a serious drug problem, but still a likable kid. He was on my case load, and I was driving him to WalMart to do some shopping.

Something happens when driving clients around in my car. I can't explain it; I call it windshield therapy. People will open up to me about things they would not say to a priest or pastor, much less a therapist. Ten minutes from WalMart, George started telling me things about himself, his addiction, his hopes and dreams. He told me about his belief in his Higher Power. I just listened. When we got to the parking lot, he asked "Do you believe in God?" I affirmed that I did, even though talking about religion was discouraged by my employer. I told him I had my struggles also, and God had brought me through it. Then he said, "Wayne, would you pray with me?" So we held hands, while shopping carts trundled past, and shoppers walked by, praying our hearts out to the only power we knew of that could bring about the miracle of healing. There we were, two broken men, sitting in an old car in the WalMart parking lot; and God was in that sacred space.

Wayne

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Good story. Thanks for having the courage to tell it.

[shoot-n-lead]

That is great...doesn't get any better.

Praise GOD!

[GhostHawk]

Amen brother!

If we are going to turn this country around there needs to be a lot more of that kind of talking.

[Bzcraig]

That my friend is EXACTLY how it is supposed to be but sadly doesn't happen often enough! Awesome!

[Boaz]

I have started t tell so many like stories ! It's hard ( at least for me ) to pass these on . So many so many , the young folks are lost , they have no gage to steer them .

[Hogtamer]

Pure and undefiled religion there brother. Jesus heard, and smiled.

[castalott]

"where ever two or more are gathered....."

Dale

[w5pv]

Pray daily for this forum and it's members and families.

[CastingFool]

Our God is an awesome God. Thank you for sharing.

[WRideout]

Thanks, guys. Now that I work for a private company, I can say "God", and it's not a swear word. It is interesting that people who are at the bottom will find that an experience with God is the only way out of the hole.

Wayne

[Pine Baron]

Thank you, Wayne. As it is, as it will always be. Amen

[USMC87]

Amen Wayne, Thanks for sharing this uplifting story!

[Rompin Ruger]

“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26 NIV).
It is all too often that all too many of us, (ME included) worry more about the repercussions of testimony, then to the effects of remaining quiet.

Kudos to you, Wayne, for your courage!

It's nice when the person you're witnessing to has the spirit to start with, sometimes daunting when they've closed their mind or heart or both.

May we all live more for Him and less for ourselves...

[4719dave]

Yes thanks for sharing this .Never give up hope .

[Hogdaddy]

That's the way God works,,AMEN
H/D

[Blackwater]

What a great story, Wayne! And Hogdaddy's right. He DOES work in all sorts of ways.

And there's an old saying that applies here, I think: "If you want to have a friend, BE a friend to someone." I think there's an awful lot of wisdom in that. When we are down and out, we learn who our TRUE friends REALLy are, and those who are down and nearly out, can't not know their status. And nobody wants to wind up in perdition. Most just don't know how to go about retrieving themselves from "the edge." It seems so simple once we know how, that it's quite un-believable to many, but that doesn't mean it's not true.

And most folks who get into drugs and alcohol and so much other stuff, DO wind up at "their wit's end," and THIS is the time the iron's hot for the striking. Desperation will reach out to anything that promises some improvement. Whether it lasts depends on so many other things, but chief among them is the company they keep. Go back to their same old "friends," and they almost always relapse. A very few feel compelled after trying that, to strike out on their own and find new friends. That's where church can really make such a wonderful difference. Some churches shun these types of folks, and that's a crying shame, but many don't and won't. True Christianity is always open to ANY who'll simply accept the inestimable Gift that our Lord purchased for us all on the Cross. And it's not HIS will that ANY should be lost. Not one! We, on the other hand, have many aspects of our character that make True Christianity hard to enact consistently. But one thing we all know - it's ALWAYS WORTH IT.

You do great work, Wayne. Keep it up, brother. Every soul is saved one individual at a time, and none of us know who'll respond and who won't, even though we try to sometimes convince ourselves we do. But that's Satan speaking to us, and trying to preserve as many souls for HIS realm as he can. You do some really great work, and the world around you will likely never appreciate what you do, but you don't do it for them, so .... who cares what they think? It's all about our Lord anyway, and not us!

Thanks for sharing some of your stories. Not all end well, I know, but that's no reason to stop casting your bread on the waters. And there's also those surprises, too, to in a way, compensate for those who are lost. Keep up the good work, and I love your stories about these folks. We all hit "down spots" in life, whether it's drugs, alcohol, finding out it's up to US to make things right, or whatever. You provide a lot of insight and hope and faith to a lot of folks. No man can do more than that. What we need is more folks who'll just pour their hearts out to others about our experiences with the Lord. What else CAN we do, really?

[Preacher Jim]

Seek the Lord where he may be found. and that is anywhere you open your heart and seek.

[MaryB]

Church is wherever people decide to make it. It is not that big expensive building the church board insisted you have! My parents had a camper at the lake when I was growing up. So Sundays were spent on the water fishing and church lost out until my older brother who was a lay pastor at the time decided to start holding a service from a boat anchored off one of the islands. First 3 weekends it was just our extended family(2 aunts and uncles also had campers there) plus my older brothers girlfriends family. Pretty soon others started to wonder what we were doing and they pulled up and some left some stayed... When my parents finally sold the camper there the Sunday water service had an official pastor from in town, a cross mounted on the island, and 20-60 boats weather permitting. We could stop fishing, run up lake to the island an anchor. Talk with the other people who lived on the lake about where the fish were biting best as we waited for the service to start. We made that patch of water into our Sunday church in summer!

[Teddy (punchie)]

Thanks For Sharing !! God Bless !!

[buckwheatpaul]

Wow....thanks for your story and your windshield therapy (ministry)....may God bless you and allow your ministry to blossom!

[Blackwater]

Church is wherever people decide to make it. It is not that big expensive building the church board insisted you have! My parents had a camper at the lake when I was growing up. So Sundays were spent on the water fishing and church lost out until my older brother who was a lay pastor at the time decided to start holding a service from a boat anchored off one of the islands. First 3 weekends it was just our extended family(2 aunts and uncles also had campers there) plus my older brothers girlfriends family. Pretty soon others started to wonder what we were doing and they pulled up and some left some stayed... When my parents finally sold the camper there the Sunday water service had an official pastor from in town, a cross mounted on the island, and 20-60 boats weather permitting. We could stop fishing, run up lake to the island an anchor. Talk with the other people who lived on the lake about where the fish were biting best as we waited for the service to start. We made that patch of water into our Sunday church in summer!

Yet another great story, Mary. Thanks! My wife's church was started by my father in law. He just got with a number of folks in that immediate little community, and they all seemed to have talents that let them build their little church. All were friends. They found a pastor to preach on Sundays, and thus began Blundale Baptist Church. And they did it all on a shoestring, and with donated labor and care and expertise in its erection and sustenance.

They never had really great preachers, except for one old man who was as good as any I've ever heard. And that's the way of the small, humble churches. They generally take whatever they can get, and make do with it, and sometimes, get a real boon like that one outstanding preacher they had for a good while. Simple folks asking little but loving comraderie and the messages of Christ. Many had little real schooling, but they had great faith, and large courage, and great determination. And that's really all it truly takes to constitute a real "church," whether it be in a building or out on the waters, or wherever. "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there am I" we are told. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

[Ithaca Gunner]

That's the way it's done, where two or more are gathered in my name...

[rl69]

Angels or rejoyceing in heaven

[jonp]

Good work, Wayne.

[Blackwater]

My little country church is filled with average working folks. Many do not have the schooling they might have had. But anyone who comes there can't help but feel the brotherly love from pretty much all of us. It's the first and main lesson I ever learned from this church, over 60 years ago now. I've been a member there for 54 years now, and soon to be 55. I could never be a member anywhere else now. Not one of us is "perfect," but we're all good, and loving, and that has grown it now WAY bigger than any of us ever foresaw. When our church burned, by a burglar looking for drugs, who lit it to "cover his tracks," we had no way of knowing how it'd make us grow like it has. Truly, God really DOES work in mysterious ways, His wonders to fulfill. I'll never understand how He works, but I'll always stand in awe of it all. And all we have to do is just give him some measure of compliance, and effort, and he blesses it FAR more than we could ever expect! What a humbling thing for us all!