This was one of those morning where I experienced a range of emotions. During our devotion time, one volunteer shared the truth of James 1:14-17—“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light with whom there is no variations or shadow due to change.”As I listened to this scripture, I felt so encouraged by the Father’s great love for us and for His provision in my life as well as those in the park.

As the line formed for breakfast, I spoke with a man for whom we have been praying that he would find a full-time job. He told me that he now has one. This is such a huge blessing! It was even more joyful because he has lived on the streets for two years since he lost his job, and now he can once again have a place to stay. We prayed together, thanking God for this job and for wisdom in finding a home.

In another conversation, I experienced both joy and sorrow. We haven’t seen one man who we met the first Thursday we served in the park in many months. This morning he returned for breakfast! It was so neat to see him; however my joy turned to sadness as he told me of the struggles and bad decisions he has been dealing with during the time he has been away.

Later I spoke with a man who joined us for the first time. He didn’t want to talk and told me to go away. This was hard to hear and it made me so sad. Truly this man feels alone and empty. Only our Father knows what is going on in his life and He is the only one who can meet him where he is. My prayer is that God will show Himself to him this week.

As I read over the prayer requests that we received this morning, I felt overwhelmed. The needs of these precious people are so huge. I had to give my feelings over to God—only He can affect change in any of these situations and I rest in His sovereignty.

Continue to pray for the difficult circumstances that those in the park face. Pray for reconciliation in their relationships. Most of all, pray that those who don’t know Christ as Savior will come to do so.