I originally wrote a post about my personal goals for 2015 and how those goals were met or at least put into motion by the year’s end.

But that was really boring.

The better story would be how the Holy Spirit used my wife to connect dozens of poor and homeless people to Midtown Ministries. And this story is important, because it illustrates how God moves in ways that cannot be controlled and ordered by man.

A couple of summers ago, Rachel took a part-time job at a tiny downtown diner that had ten seats and sold nothing but hot dogs. She soon had a co-worker named Mike and the two began to get to know each other.

Now my wife wears Jesus all over her face and by hour two of working together, Rachel was telling Mike about Jesus in a way that sincerely helped him.

It didn’t take too long, however, until Mike was fired.

We didn’t think much about it.

Then winter hit, and Mike came into the Midtown Cafe. He was suffering through a severe psychotic episode but happened to remember Rachel telling him about the ministry.

For those of you who follow this blog, this is the same Mike from the post “Bearing With.” For those reading for the first time, you can read more of Mike’s story here.

What I have yet to mention about Mike is that he ended up being the “person of peace” for Midtown Ministries… the person who served as a gateway to the neighborhood. He knows everyone and is an incredibly inviting person.

After walking with us for a time, Mike told a lot of people about the Midtown Cafe. Those people told their friends, who told their friends and, well, you get the idea.

When people walk into Midtown Ministries and observe all that we do, they sometimes ask the question, “How did you connect to all these people?”

We could tell them how we walked the neighborhood on a regular basis, prayed with people, followed up, etc.

And we really did those things.

But, to be honest, I know that we have connected to so many of our neighbors because Mike vouched for us.

He told his friends that we were worth getting to know.

And they believed him. Neighbors started coming around, having conversations, and forming a loving family.

And that was all put into motion when Rachel took a part-time job at a hot dog shop.

Or maybe even earlier than that. Who knows?

Which is the point, really.

We can never be certain what the Holy Spirit is up to, but we can always be certain that he is up to something. 

This reality should comfort us. It is a reminder that our only responsibility is to be faithful — where we are — because God knows what might happen in the days that follow.

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I am going to take a week off for the holidays. The blog will be back in full swing on January 4th. 

Thanks for reading. God bless!