Unprepared...

The last few days at the Opportunity Center have been wonderful, difficult, and somewhat intense. It is really hard to describe everything that happens in a single day at the Center because there is always so much going on. Still, yesterday was a pretty incredible day...Here is what I wrote in my journal when I got home last night:

Wow! Today rocked my face off. I had no idea what I was in for. I had two really great, deep, spiritual conversations that I was not expecting, and that got me thinking and questioning things just as much as any class. The first conversation I had was remarkable and enlightening. I sat down by Matthew (an elderly gentleman) and we had a great conversation. It started something like this:
Ashlea: "Hey, How are you?"
Matthew: "Blessed".
A: "Yea? Doing alright then."
M: "Good and bad but, won't think about the bad, you know?"
A: "What's up?"
M: "O, just waiting on some things; papers, takes awhile to go through and I am not a very patient person." (btw...he is actually waiting on some very important papers)
A: "Yup! I am not a very patient person either...at all. Def. struggle with that. What's good?"
M: "Well, I woke up this morning and thought to myself 'Wow! my creator kept me safe again! And not only that, but he had the audacity to wake me up and give me breath this morning!'"

I don't know how to properly convey the emotion that was put into that last statement but, it was honest and pure and incredibly humbling. Our conversation from there on out put me in a position of pure awe and thankfullness. This man chooses his meager life (I am not sure if he chooses to be homeless but he does choose a simple lifestyle). He chooses it in order that, as he put it, "there would be no distractions between me and my creator." He told me that he wakes up every morning and the first person he thinks of is YHWH and he wants to praise Him and learn something new about Him every day. He also told me that he gets distracted enough, and the spirit has to correct enough as he is --> that he doesn't want anything else because it may create an obstacle.
It's just him and his creator.

Why was I so humbled then? Because he is so right. I do my best to not approach this situation or people thinking that I know something they do not or that I have something they need but, truthfully, that is a really hard thought to rid yourself of. Times like these, conversations like that, really make me see and understand how much more I have to learn. I though I might have something of worth to say to Matthew but, I found myself speechless (which is rare :) ). He was so honest and uncondemning as he told me about his life that it is still sinking in. His words were strong but what was most challenging about him was the way he lived his life; constant, holy, pure communication with his creator.

By the way....I will eventually try and get more pictures on here :)
PEACE!