The moment I saw her walk through the door, I knew something was wrong. She came in with a man in town who makes me want to smack him in the head for how I’ve seen him treat women, but I closed my eyes and asked God to help me remember that the ground is level at the cross. I wasn’t sure if she was high, but she had the look. I quickly made my way over to her and introduced myself. She was skittish and very uncertain. I motioned for my mom to come over and together we made small talk, but it was clear she wasn’t looking to make new friends.
We never know if we will see people again. That’s the hardest part of our ministry. I spent the first year crying every single night and begging God to watch over the people we met, especially the children. I couldn’t get this new girl’s face out of my head. I remember saying to God, “please send her back and if she is attached to (man I wanted to smack) please show her a way of escape.” What I didn’t know was that my mom was praying the same prayer. The very next week, she came back and this time she was alone. It took everything I had not to run over to her and say “you came back!” I’ve learned the hard way that hugging people who don’t know me makes me look a little crazy. So, I kept my cool and just said hello.
I found out from Diedra that the girl’s name was Mandi. Diedra looked me in my eyes with desperation and said, “She was my best friend when I was in addiction. We have to help her.” When we came out of the kitchen, my mom was sitting with her and they were laughing. Next thing I knew my mom was packing her a bag food and said to me “I have to feed that baby.” It’s an ongoing joke with our soup kitchen family that when my mom starts to love you, she feeds you. She rescued a dog a few years ago that had been starved and beaten and in two weeks he was chubby and wouldn’t leave her side. What she doesn’t realize is that she doesn’t just feed us food. She feeds us all the lessons that life has taught her. She feeds us this crazy, insane, immeasurable love. She momma bears us all.
Delina Thompson-Parks is the perfect combination of Claire Huxtable and Madea. She can also hit a bullseye with her pistol. And she started loving on Mandi.
Next thing I knew, Mandi told me she went to church at Cornerstone and met a dear friend of mine named Brandy. “She was really nice to me and my kids” she whispered to me. Then we talked about Mike’s message. “It made me feel good. All that he was talking about in the Bible.”
Again, I had to keep my cool and not explode into a mixture of tears and a Pentecostal praise break.
Last Sunday, Mandi picked up her chip for 90 days. That, my friends, is because of a miracle-working God.
That, my friends, is because of the body of Christ doing what God commissioned us to do – LOVE.
That, my friends, is because of all the messages and texts that I send out for believers in Christ to use the most powerful weapon we have – PRAYER.
That, my friends, is because on a day that my friend Brandy could have missed church, she didn’t and she encouraged another momma by simply being nice. Pay attention to the new person in church.
Mandi Lynn, my beautiful Jesus-loving friend, we are so proud of you. You think we changed your life, but it’s the other way around, you gorgeous thing. Jesus fills my heart up when I see you.