Seeds at Home Depot
by Shawn King / Director College & Young Adults and Spiritual Formation Assistant
There are so many times when I am talking to people about Jesus in a store, at the checkout or a coffee shop, that I wonder if it’s making any difference at all. I’ve told myself that I’m planting seeds, but to be honest, after planting a lot of seeds I sure would like to see one sprout.
There was a younger guy named Jesus that I met at Home Depot a few years back. Before you think I’m being metaphorical, his name was really Jesus, not the Jesus of the Bible, but a 20-something with a lot of hurts and looking for a friend. Over the span of about a year I would go to Home Depot to get supplies and strike up a conversation. We would talk about faith, who this God is and what the Bible is all about. He was always grateful for the conversation, but not ready in that moment to start a faith journey. So, I would pray with him and for his situation and be on my way.
One day he informed me that he was going to be taking a new job and I wouldn’t see him anymore at the Depot. A large part of me was bummed. This is not how it’s supposed to end. I’m supposed to get to pray with him and lead him to the Savior.
Over the next couple years, I would text him here and there, but with no response. Then one day recently out of the blue I get a text message from an unknown number, “Is this Shawn King?” It was my Home Depot buddy. After years of not getting to talk, or knowing where he was, he knew where to turn when things got rough. All of those conversations proved that when there was a crisis, he knew of someone who cared enough to ask how he was doing.
In that moment, I was reminded of just how faithful our God is and how true it is that when we plant seeds and trust God, there is far more going on than we see or know. Thank You, Lord for Your faithfulness that first sought after me, and continues to draw others.
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| Photo courtesy of Flickr |
There was a younger guy named Jesus that I met at Home Depot a few years back. Before you think I’m being metaphorical, his name was really Jesus, not the Jesus of the Bible, but a 20-something with a lot of hurts and looking for a friend. Over the span of about a year I would go to Home Depot to get supplies and strike up a conversation. We would talk about faith, who this God is and what the Bible is all about. He was always grateful for the conversation, but not ready in that moment to start a faith journey. So, I would pray with him and for his situation and be on my way.
One day he informed me that he was going to be taking a new job and I wouldn’t see him anymore at the Depot. A large part of me was bummed. This is not how it’s supposed to end. I’m supposed to get to pray with him and lead him to the Savior.
Over the next couple years, I would text him here and there, but with no response. Then one day recently out of the blue I get a text message from an unknown number, “Is this Shawn King?” It was my Home Depot buddy. After years of not getting to talk, or knowing where he was, he knew where to turn when things got rough. All of those conversations proved that when there was a crisis, he knew of someone who cared enough to ask how he was doing.
In that moment, I was reminded of just how faithful our God is and how true it is that when we plant seeds and trust God, there is far more going on than we see or know. Thank You, Lord for Your faithfulness that first sought after me, and continues to draw others.