I ask for your prayers. Not for myself, but for a man I met today; Clarence Fox. Pray for shelter, food, long life, health, peace, salvation, visitation, and furtherance in all good things to come. The following is not a brag. Not in the least. Merely my story for the day.
I had a rough night, and slept maybe 2 hours. I tried to take a nap this morning between classes, but couldn’t get to sleep then, either. So, I walked from the International House at UT to the Cumberland Ave. Strip to hunt up some food. This is normally not a problem, but I’m tired, cranky, and hungry. Not a combination to provide easy answers. I wanted one thing, decided it was too far, and went for something else. Anyway, as I pass McDonald’s, a guy in a knit stocking cap and dirty clothes and jacket came up to me. He said something like, “Excuse me. Hey, I’ve got this watch here. It’s a nice watch. Can I sell it ot you to get some food?” I stumbled through something about not having any cash, but I’d be willing to buy him lunch. We went over to McAlister’s. I told him to get what he wanted, and finally got him to own up to wanting coffee and the meatloaf. We sat and talked, and he told me he was hitchhiking from Richmond, VA, to somewhere in Florida. He talked about travelling by hitching, how he was trying to get to the truck stops at Watt Rd., though he didn’t know that, just that they were about 30 miles away. I told him to get some cash and get the bus to Farragut. I have some blank (lined) note cards in my backpack. (I was using them to write down the list of people’s names to include in my prayers. That’s a project that will take forever.) I drew a cross on one and wrote the words “Orthodox Church” on it and told him that, if he really wanted to pay me back, to look for that kind of church and that kind of cross. One that looks kinda like this:
He asked if he went there that he’d find help. I said that he would, hoping that he really would. I finished, whished him well, and went off to class (which I am sitting outside of, waiting to go in).
I pray he gets where he’s going. Please, pray for him, too.
Peace,
Red Wolf
“I’ve been looking for
That heart I’ve never known
Searching for someone to sing me
Sweetly home
Sweetly home”
– “Nathaniel Miles” by Justin Mathews
