Today was a very sad day in the park for me. As I greeted people in line for food, I saw a man I have talked with many times. This man is usually upbeat, but today when I asked him how his week had been he said , “We’ll talk.” I knew something was wrong, yet was unprepared for what was to come.

I served in the line for a few minutes, and then went to find this man so I could find out what was wrong and ask how I could pray for him. When we started talking, he said, “I’m just tired, I’m just so tired.” And he began to sob. This 250+ lb man sat with me for 30 minutes and cried his eyes out. He talked about how tired he was of making minimum wage (he works at a fast-food restaurant) and not being able to consistently afford a place to live. He had slept on a park bench the night before and had to work all day the day we talked. He listened as I shared every scripture I could think of, but he kept repeating how he cried out to God day after day and was just ready to give up.

This was one of the toughest discussions I have ever had in the park. It was very hard for me to say “Don’t become weary of doing good…” (because I get weary) and that he should  be”…working for the Lord and not for men.” (because I get tired of working hard and not being able to make ends meet) and to “cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you” because sometimes I feel like God doesn’t care about me at all if I am really honest. It is in moments like these that I come face to face with what I believe. It’s a lot shinier and nicer on a Sunday morning when everything seems so cut and dry. But in the middle of a desperate situation that I absolutely cannot fix or control, is God really, really enough?

The answer is yes, but the answer is hard. I have to remind myself of it over and over and over, and have other people remind me of it as well. This is the gospel that nobody wants to hear preached. This is the gospel that keeps you up at night and makes you wrestle. God is enough. He is sufficient and he is all we need, but we are desperate for quick fixes and easy solutions. We want immediate gratification and answers. But the reality is that the Christian life is a painful, thorny journey of hard obedience and it doesn’t always look or feel good. But the end result is a promise directly from the book of Romans- “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” There is HOPE when we are weary and worn out. There is an eternal glory just around the corner if we can just hang on.

Please join me in praying for this man and others in the park. Pray for our team as we have difficult conversations. Pray we will recall scripture and stand firm on the Word of God as we share. Thank you for your prayers for Grace’s Kitchen.