My family and I were visiting the Mexican panderia downtown one morning.

An older man stood between the bakery and vape shop. An oxygen tank beside him. His clothes were weathered, his face even more so, but he smiled warmly as people passed.

Additionally, there was a young man curled up underneath the bakery window. He barely moved, save to readjust himself every few minutes.

I stared through the windshield as I waited for my wife to return with sweetbread in hand.

Part of me wanted to get out.

The other part was doing the math.

That morning had started with me packing my wife’s car for an hour-long drive to the Omaha Zoo.

After I turned on the car, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree.

I restarted the car.

No change.

When I went inside to tell my wife, I learned her brother and his family had cancelled because their kids were sick.

Her parents cancelled too.

We didn’t know what to do.

We tried praying over the car, looking for a mechanic that could get to us, moving everything we needed into my smaller SUV...

nothing worked.

The Omaha Zoo and Jacobo’s, our favorite Mexican bakery, were both off the table.

We pivoted to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo and a local bakery instead.

Now, hours after we planned to be at the zoo, I sat staring at the bakery door.

“Go” was all I heard.

I popped out of the car and approached the older man.

He smiled and mumbled something hard to catch as I handed him some money.

I asked if I could pray for him and he nodded.

I put my arm around his shoulders and prayed God's love and peace over him, then healing over his lungs and body.

I thanked him and turned toward the younger man, who stood up as I approached.

I handed him some money.

He stared at me a moment before taking it.

He introduced himself as Bryce.

We started talking.

He told me he’d made some bad choices. 

He’d been on the street that year, and just wanted a decent job and his life to have a point again.

I told him I didn't believe God saw him as a screw-up or failure. Rather that God saw Bryce as His son, with purpose.

Then I asked Bryce if I could pray with him. He said yes.

I spoke what Holy Spirit brought to mind:

God’s son: loved, known, and worth Jesus’ sacrifice.
Real friends who would love Bryce deeply.
Joy and light in God's presence.
And a good job to come.

By the time I finished praying, both of us were teary.

I hugged Bryce and thanked him for his time.

I told him I hoped I'd see him again someday, here or in heaven.

Then I finally turned back toward the car where my wife and the kids were staring at me through the windshield.

You’re already late.

People are waiting on you.

In the middle of that pressure, waiting to help one more person feels justified.

Not right now.
After I handle this.
Once we finally get moving.
Another day when I’m less busy.

You aren’t deciding the person doesn’t matter.

You feel you need your own day settled before you can give anything more.

By the time we got to the Lincoln Zoo it was already 11:30.

We ate the pastries with lunch and had a great day.

Those extra few minutes hadn’t ruined anything.

In Mark 6, Jesus’ disciples returned from ministry exhausted. They’d been so busy with people coming and going they didn’t even have time to eat.

Jesus knew they all needed a break:

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” - Mark 6:31

When the crowd saw them leaving, they figured out where they were going and ran ahead.

As their boat approached the shore, Jesus saw the crowd and decided to have compassion on them.

You don’t have to enjoy being interrupted.
You don’t need an explanation for why your plans changed.
And you don’t have to get your day back under control first to have peace.

You can still love the people in front of you in the middle of the chaos.

You can still love the people in front of you in the middle of the chaos.

And trust Jesus with the day you can’t control.

Until next time,
Addison