Church Under A Bridge

Have you ever been in that place where you are tired of talking and are ready to live? I found myself there just last semester. God had been doing a lot of work on my heart and in my life; I had been broken by His grace and put back together again. God was doing amazing things in my life, I was learning and growing in ways I could never have imagined. It was a point when I had been living for Christ but I was ready to take the next step and risk, ready to jump out into His arms, ready to live.

I couldn’t shake the restless and unsettled sense of there being more. I was frustrated because I felt like God had so many opportunities and I wasn’t seeking them out to the best of my ability. It was a feeling that was hard to describe- it felt like God was shaping my heart for something that I had yet to experience… but I was aching for it. I began reading through the gospels and something that struck me over and over again how Jesus always knew the poor. I was captivated at how often the Word speaks of Jesus being surrounded by those in need, how he says “blessed are the poor”, and how he notices those that are seemingly invisible. Now, it was no surprise to read this, I had read it and heard it often but this time it hit me. I began to ask myself, why, as a Christ follower, I didn’t know the poor? Am I loving the “least of these”? I was tired of just hearing, reading and talking about these things and was ready to actually start living them.

It had been on my heart to go downtown and see what kind of opportunities God could have down there. Finally, after many months of prayer and being unsuccessful in finding available company to go with me, I talked to my parents about going alone (I wasn’t sure how they would feel about the idea of me going all by myself… it can be a curse being a girl), but much to my joy they said yes to the idea!

So the next morning (which happened to be a Sunday) I ventured downtown after church. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do when I got there, I just felt like it was something God wanted me to do. So, I drove and I prayed. I prayed for God to show me any opportunities that He wanted me to take (it was a great conversation I had with God on the way there). As I was driving under a bridge and I looked over and saw a congregation of people and what looked to be a church- my heart filled with excitement. I ended up parking at the nearest place available (which happened to about a mile away) and I walked down to the bridge to see what was going on. Now, let me pause for a second and just let you know that I am not the kind of person that typically walks up to a random group of people and asks what’s going on, this was without a doubt a complete God-given courage.

I made it to the bridge and stood back and observed what was going on- it was without a doubt a church and it appeared to be a homeless church at that. After the service was over I approached some of the people there and asked what was going on. They directed me to the pastor and I was able to meet him and they invited me to come back any time.

I left filled with joy! Since then, November 11, 2007, I’ve been going to that church every week. It has been such an amazing experience. I have met some of the most beautiful, amazing, and loving people and have been able to build relationships that have changed my life. I am so thankful that God blessed me with this church- it’s an adventure every week! God has and is changing my life through my beautiful friends that live on the streets- He is showing me so much through them and their faith.

I am confident that this is what God was leading my restless heart towards. It’s been fun learning and trying to live like Christ- it’s a process and I’m nowhere near it, but I feel as though I’m tasting what Jesus meant when He talked about that “abundant life” stuff. =)

I tell you this because I assure you that there will be many blogs to come concerning my friends and our experiences under the bridge (I wanted to give you a point of reference as to what I was talking about). I just wish you all could meet these amazing people! Can I just say that God is faithful? Ahhhh, I’m excited about what He is doing! God is good!