C'est la vie

Monday and Tuesday were normal days - though 'normal' is subject to interpretation. On Wednesday afternoon, however, I met with a group of prayer partners who have been friends of this ministry for more than a decade. It was a valuable meeting for me personally, as I was able to let go of some stuff I had been carrying around for a long time, but it was somewhat draining. I'm a small group leader with our church and our group met that night. I love our group but leading a half-dozen folks deeper into Christ does take some small measure from one's spirit as well.

So Thursday, I was wiped. Thursday night, however, there was a fist-fight in the dining room. I've been trying to stave off that fight for months and last night it erupted. One of our guests has been saying crudely inappropriate things to a number of teenage girls who attend the public meals program. His behaviour has been escalating to the point where I actually banned him for a couple of weeks but the message didn't sink in. My last attempt was to have him come for a meal in a take-out container but he would come in mid-afternoon, when no-one else was here. No such luck - he continued to arrive during the dinner hour, propositioned the teenage girls and then taunted the boys who rose to their defence. It's a glowing testament to our teens that they didn't lay down the street justice on him weeks ago, but last night they did. My only wish is that they had done it around the corner.

So I spent the better part of this afternoon dealing with that, talking to everybody involved and hoping I got it right. Okay, fine, but then at dinner tonight a guy shows up with a knife on his belt. This wasn't a Swiss Army Knife with a can opener, corkscrew and nail-file - it was 16" long from hilt to tip with a two sided blade that was razor sharp. Okay then... I asked him to let me keep it in the office for "safekeeping", and he - quite nicely, mind you - let me. He's never, ever been any trouble and was very polite and co-operative tonight, but I have to call the cops anyway. I mean, what if somebody did get slashed or stabbed later in the night? When the judge asks me why I didn't call the police earlier, what am I to say then? So they came and talked to him and then advised him to take his knife and head home for the night. (It's not a crime to carry a knife as long as it's in a sheath and in plain sight). So he, the knife and his mother left for home without, as they say, further incident.

Another day, another dinner.

Comments

[John]

Isn't it interesting how spiritual formation is a strange combination of the internal life and all the stuff swarming around us that we can't control? I'm enjoying your journal. Thanks for writing.

[[rhymes with kerouac]]

John - Au contraire! Thanks for joining us...

[Deborah Hooper]

I know without asking that you have a powerful prayer life. I know because from my experience in church leadership, you must constantly replenish the spiritual energy ministry drains from you. Isn't it nice how ministering to others draws you closer to God?

[[rhymes with kerouac]]

Deborah - You know, it's funny. I haven't set aside half an hour for prayer in the last year or so - that never worked for me. Instead I find myself having a conversation with God throughout the day. I started doing that because nothing else worked. There are some folks who get up at four in the morning and pray for three or four hours before breakfast and I've always kind of envied them but was just never, never able to do the same thing.