Hope Rising

We just finished an awesome series at my church called Hope Rising. Eight weeks of worship services focused on remembering and clinging to the promises of our God and the hope for our lives that He longs to share with us. Hope for our relationships. Hope for our dreams. Hope for our city.

I was walking home from church tonight, a light snow falling from the sky and a few residual tears dripping down my face…not really in the mood to engage with the guy at the corner calling out Happy Easter to me who was no doubt about to ask me if I had a dollar or a quarter or a dime…so I started to cross the street in the opposite direction to totally avoid the encounter. But then I remembered that it was Easter after all, and while I really didn’t have any money to give him, I could at least treat him like a human being.

So I crossed the street in his direction and he put out his hand and told me his name was J.R. and asked me if I was walking home. Turns out he lives in the building next to mine. He was homeless and living in the ally behind our buildings not too long ago until the owner of his building offered him a place to stay in exchange for some work. And by then we were at my front gate, so we said goodnight.

No big deal. Just two people walking on the same sidewalk at the same moment. But here in Detroit they are the encounters I claim as holy. God works in mysterious ways, but He is moving. He knows our needs. He hears our cries. He has not forgotten His promises to us.

Hope is rising. Hope has risen. Happy Easter.