Slim: A candidate for a miracle

Slim staggered into the Love In Action Ministry Center around 8 p.m. Saturday. We had finished another great Saturday of Adopt-A-Block and work at the ministry center and were preparing to call it a night. But, we weren't finished.

We were standing in the lobby area when Slim stumbled past us and headed toward the eating area. He has enjoyed some hot meals in there, and I guess in his mind he was going to have another one.

Slim is a homeless man who is strung out in a big way on crack cocaine. We have never seen him in sober state. He has smoked so much crack, even in a sober state of mind he would appear under the influence to most people. Crack has taken its toll on Slim. It owns him. It controls him.

However, the great thing is even in his drug-induced walk through downtown Dothan, he knows there is a safe place for him. A place where he knows he won't be beaten up or robbed. He knows he is welcome. That's why he keeps coming back.

Most of the time he doesn't ask for food. He usually asks for socks and shoes. He loses them, and at other times, they are stolen. We usually give him two pairs of socks, but we don't always give him shoes. He usually has shoes on, but when he showed up in just socks we made sure he had a pair of shoes on his feet when he left.

Saturday night he asked for socks. We gave him the socks and food. Crack addicts crave sweets, so we gave him some cupcakes too, which he started eating immediately. He camped out on the front porch for part of the night. He left a mess on the front porch, but that's OK. It only took about five minutes to clean it up. That is a very small price to pay knowing he felt safe for part of that night and ate his food. At least we know he received some nutrition that night.

To most people, Slim looks like a lost cause. He's gone too far to be helped. I disagree. Nobody is too far from our Father's reach. Jesus says in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (NLT).

Jesus says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (KJV)

Slim is a "whosoever" and he is "lost." According to the Bible, Jesus came to save him and to give him everlasting life.

An addiction recovery program will not do Slim any good at this point, because he cannot carry on a conversation. He can't sit still long enough to even try to have one. He couldn't comprehend such recovery steps.

His only hope is Jesus Christ. I have seen Jesus take lives as seemingly hopeless as Slim's, and completely turn them around, save them and clean them up. Slim is just the next candidate for such a miracle. Every time Slim leaves I always tell him that Jesus loves him and so do I. He usually responds with a, "Yes-sir. Thank you."

One day, I'm hoping Slim will call out to Jesus because he remembers hearing that Jesus loves him. He keeps coming back to us because he knows we love him. When he calls on Jesus, things will change. I've seen Jesus deliver people from such situations through His power and might, and not because of any program. Programs have their place, and our Celebrate Recovery is an awesome outreach. But for people like Slim, it will take a miracle from God to turn his life around.

Please join us in praying for Slim and for God to work a miracle in his life.