Homeward Bound

I met Sam just a few weeks ago.  He and his then-girlfriend were hungry, tired and looking for help.  I helped meet a physical need for Sam and then he helped me meet a spiritual need in my life.  Sam said he had no one to talk to about all the problems he was facing and his troubling past.  So, one night, in the parking lot of a housing complex, we talk about everything.  God, relationships, mental illness, abuse, drug use...you name it.

Sam decided he needed to go home and stay with his brother while he got his life together.  I offered to take same home to Arkansas.  Thanks to the help of a couple of Christian friends, we filled the gas tank and started out for Hamburg, AR.  Taking the long, flat, straight Hwy. 61 through the Mississippi Delta in July is always an experience in heat and boredom.  Sam and I had a good time on our journey.  We laughed.  We cried.  We sang.  And something happened: Sam began to smile.  I can say in the short time I had known him, I had never seen Sam smile.  As we approached his familiar surroundings, he began to tell me stories about each creek, each bridge, each house and store.  When we left the paved road (really), we knew we were getting close.  As we pulled up at the place where Sam's brother lives, his brother, Larry, ran out to the car to meet us.  Sam broke down, hugging his brother and his brother began to reassure him, "Family is family.  You will always have a place here..."  Sounds a lot like Luke 15 doesn't it?  God runs to embrace us, despite our appearance, our sin or how far we have wandered.

God, help us to be an embracing people who always let others know it is never too late to come home.

Blessings,

Will