Detroit, Michigan
Recently, I was personally lead to believing in Christ by way of my favorite roadside market and a large hanging crucifix. The Lord had stopped me on a warm afternoon to tell me that I needed to rethink my place in this world, and to remember people are there to help me not to hinder me. Jesus saved me from making a fool of myself, and today I owe Him all the honor. I remember pulling into my favorite roadside fruit and vegetable stand one afternoon not knowing I was about to be fully converted to Jesus Christ. The story I'm about to tell you is true. I did a monstrous thing to those people at that stand that Tuesday on my way home. But God stopped me in my daily journey and was blinded by His light.
As it was, I was determined to shut down another rip-off place! As usual, my mind would whirl when I might be encountering treatments I feel I don't deserve. That day I needed but to have asked to have the plums put into a separate bag from the apples then I could carry both. Though the plums were in a bag of their own, they were still in with the apples. The tomatoes were in a bag of their own, why couldn't the plums hang on another of my fingers. Seeing a disaster in that sack I fought with my feelings. I was sure I was being ripped off by these people. Knowingly, I was out to close them down their market for the good and for their good!
I tore into the owners with hell's fire. Cussing, screaming, cursing, and nearly slapping them around. I let everything out on them. I was insane. Truly, I was insane. I lost all control. The older woman stood and stared at me while I flew one insult after another at the dear persons working under the canopied market. I also had drawn a crowd around the couple with a few of the other customers to watch what was happening between the three of us.
To make a story short, while screaming wildly the bag of tomatoes must have hit into the counter's edge and the cruched tomatoes were leaking inside the brown paper bag and down onto my blue shoes. With the fruit's juice now running down my leg, I finally stopped to look at the mess I was making in my tirade. A broken tomato was hanging onto the side of the hole in the broken brown paper bag and the red fruit was about to fall completely out while the red juice and yellow seeds had splashed down onto and were dripping off the top of my blue oxford shoes.
My anger grew into a steaming fume. I was about to dart another fierce look at them when looking up to confront them I saw hanging on the canopy's corner pole a very large cross with Jesus on it. The huge crucifix caught my attention. I was stunned. The appearance of a lonely man with his arms stretched out, the way he head hung down, still and all, I could see into his eyes. His eyes were looking at me!
Staring for a few seconds I finally lifted my head to look at the people I had been yelling at. I quickly grabbed the broken bag and pulled the smashed and hanging tomato away from my now red soggier slacks and began to apologised for my behavior. Stammering in a mudder, I looked up into their eyes. Still quivering I stumbled out, "Yes, Jesus!"
I had had a vision while standing there. It was Jesus. His head was hanging down but He was staring straight out at me! The look on his face made me stop. I right away stopped my insane behavior towards these people. Jesus healed my on the spot. Right there under the canopy while holding onto the broken bag of broken tomatoes and the sad broken bone of a life.
I did see Jesus looking at me. He saved me at that moment. I dropped a few tears from my eyes. I made a fool of myself, please will they forgive me Lord. I began to beg the owners of the roadway market. Looking again at the heavy crucifix, I knew Jesus wanted me to say I was sorry for what I had been doing to them. So, I repeated the words over and over and over again and over them by the counter, "I'm sorry." They just reassured me to the fact that sometimes we all have bad days. "Don't worry about it. What's done is done. There was not harm done."
I was dying both mentally and spiritually. That day Jesus and His crucifix stop me from going on with my ugly life. I'm still sorry even after these few weeks that I made such a fuss. My smile has returned, and I praise the Lord everyday for stopping me on my way home that afternoon and offered me another chance at life. One that I took and I live blessed in the Lord each day now. Thank you Jesus for saving me and tell heaven that I will be home soon.
