Rockford, Illinois
I found my way to the Lord Jesus through a man who sat next to me during the winter months enjoying the episodes of Star Trek that always played on the community TV at our local soup kitchen. That man, who sat next to me, makes pyramid of playing cards while waiting to see if anyone was looking to play a game of cribbage. Curious I tried not to stare at him, but from the corner of my eye I was fixed in his face. I knew the man only from going to the kitchen.
Leon always had something to do. A tall man with a short hair cut and simple clothes. He'd like to keep his beard at stubbly and used a brush to comb back both his bread and his hair. He'd either read the sports section of the daily newspaper or work the crossword puzzle. He'd watch his favorite mornings shows on the TV, and he help out with the tasks everybody had to do for a plate of food. The only words he ever said about God was that "one day He'll reign."
One Sunday at the shelter we all sat eating dinner when a word spread around about him. They said "he happened upon some money and that was the reason for it." "It," I finally broke in and asked. "I'm sorry did I hear something about Leon?" A tall man stood up and said, "Yeah, Leon...he's got money." The tall guy turned towards the man he was speaking about and said somewhat louder, " Someone who's knew Leon said Leon got money from an army settlement and he had invested it somewhere and was giving a big amount of it to the shelter."
Staring at the TV picture, I watched the other people act out their parts in the matter as I filtered through what said. Mac was a low income man who was secretly funding the homeless shelter. Why in the world would he live hand to mouth, eating food given through donations, and wearing clothes from a give-away room? The biggest surprise was the army settlement. Gees, he never said a word to anyone and now he's rich!
I started reading the bible a lot more after that day. I prayed that somewhere, God willing, I to would have something that could be settled at. I felt I had always paid my debts and always offered something of what I had if I had it to give. My faith that day changed from bad to good. If Leon who never even offered a bit of information about the army of funding the homeless shelter we lived at could one day be a rich man, then I needed to quiet down and learn a lesson or two from this guy.
I read everyday from then on. I still do today. I know most the books in their order, and quote verse like they were water...blessed water. I will, as the Negros say, over come one day. My riches are in heaven await'in on me. I need only believe on the Lord and He will set me free from this poverty I have found. I hope I will inspire someone here at the shelter with a gift donation as Leon did, but I will wait and see...that is, if God wants me to do something like that...for real. God bless you all. This is my story of how I made my fortune at the homeless shelter.
