Day Hiking in the City
“You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.”
Psalm 18:36 CSB
November 18, 2023
Quentin, Amanda, and I first made our way to a grocery store near a busy intersection in OKC. There are usually a handful of people standing along the road trying to catch the attention of drivers at the stoplight. We parked the car, gathered a few lunches, and grabbed our carafe of coffee. Before we headed to the street, Amanda peeked around a large wall at the back of the lot and saw a line of tents - a community of people living in secrecy behind the grocery store.
Following Amanda’s lead, we rounded the corner and met three adults who gladly accepted cups of hot coffee. We spoke with them for a moment, and they pointed us down the path to another tent. We visited with these two folks for a few minutes before asking where we might find anyone else. The man in the tent told us to follow this path all the way down, around, up, and back around to a hidden spot where many unhoused people charge up their phones. It was an unexpected hike with hills, trees, and lots of litter.
We followed the suggested path and found Michael watching a video on his charging phone. Michael’s hand was wrapped in a cast and bandages, and his head hung low. We sat with him and asked permission to pray. He lifted his injured hand and said, “My hand, please. And that I can get back on my feet.”
I am a brand new white-belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I know next-to-nothing, and am mostly defenseless against my classmates (but I’m learning!). At the end of each class, I spend a few minutes trying to survive against a peer, but my feet are almost always swept out from underneath me. Once I’m down, it takes no time for my opponent to climb on top of me and have complete control. The fight to stand upright afterwards is absolutely exhausting, and sometimes seemingly impossible. I imagine Michael spent a great deal of time just trying to survive, when his feet were finally knocked out from underneath him. Now add an injury into the mix and take away all stability. Michael just wants to get back on his feet.
The Lord led us down a hidden path to Michael and allowed us a few moments to lift his requests to Heaven. It was an honor to facilitate the conversation with our Father. Please join us in prayer that our good God would lift Michael to his feet and set him on a spacious path - that his ankles would never again give way.