I made my way across the causeway, away from the comforts of Island living, driving down the infamous “L” street. This street leads straight to hwy 341 where the scrap metal business is located. I think it was a divine intervention when the Lord drew this urban road so close to St. Simons Island. It is only seconds after leaving the Island that “L” street meets you with dilapidated buildings, roaming police cars, crack houses, aching addicts seeking out their next hit, crowded liquor stores, and surrounding government housing. The near presence of darkness is heavy. Everytime. The Lord uses that road daily to remind me that I am not “Home” and there are souls to be won for eternity. As I cross the intersection, The Lord’s spirit rises within me and opens my eyes. I watch the faces of the residents there as I ride by. It isn’t a long road, but somehow time seems to stand still as I drive by and notice the lost eyes residing in the faces of those worn wanderers. Maybe they have a place to sleep, but their souls are in such distress. Sin, loss, pain, darkness, evil, deception. It all lies behind their eyes. They have drifted so far from the Father’s flock and are being held captive in the world’s miry pit. Lost sheep. That day I heard the sweet voice of the Lord immediately. He said “lift them up, lay them at the cross”. I prayed for each I passed and suddenly Dan came to mind again. I thought about how the Lord was seeking Him out. The Lord whispered “I leave the flock of righteous ones to find the lost one and bring him home.” Instantly I was met with a wave of conviction and adoration. My Holy God, My Creator. He cares. He loves us that much. He wants Dan home.
I wasn’t surprised when I saw Dan pulling in as soon as I got my things settled in the office that morning. The Lord has been waiting for him. Dan did not look well. It seemed he had taken an emotional beating. His spirit was so quieted within him, his smile almost undetectable. The stench of stale alcohol was profoundly heavy on his breath. He made no eye contact this morning, murmured a quiet “hello”, and handed me his ticket. My coworker, Chris, entered the office and started speaking to Dan and I realized they were finishing a conversation that had started when they were outside weighing in Dan’s cans. Chris said, “yea, man, call me, I’ll take you to a meeting anytime”. I heard the Lord’s voice, “Lay Him at my feet, Lindsay”. I walked out from behind my desk and met Dan and Chris on the other side of the glass. I said, “are you doing alright this morning, Dan?” His humble eyes stared at the floor, “well, Miss Lindsay, I’m just in that same ol’ rut, I don’t know how I got here again.” I replied, “well, it’s ok that you are there, there is a way out of that place.” Chris and I have both been there. Dan looked up and let out a deep breath. There was a defeated tone in his voice and a fear written across his face that sickened me. I knew the lies and deceptive hand of the devil had been Dan’s regular company lately. Chris continued to speak with him about AA meetings as Dan told us about his past experiences in rehab and his past failures. Dan was about to be evicted from his home. His wife was leaving to live with her sister. He was a few steps from sleeping on concrete. Dan was close to hitting the bottom of that miry pit. Chris gave Dan his number and Dan said he would call. Jesus’ gracious presence entered the room. I closed my eyes for just a second to soak Him in. The hand of Jesus mercifully reached out and longed for His child to turn toward Him. He wanted to wash Dan’s feet, clean his wounds, hold him for a little while. As Dan started out the door, the Holy Spirit clenched my voice and I called out to Dan. He was making his way to his shabby blue car. “Dan, would it be ok if I prayed with you?” Honestly, part of me thought, “crap”. Thankfully, the power of the Lord consumed the circumstances and reached for Dan. I placed my hand on his shoulder and lifted him to Jesus. I prayed for every need I had mentioned and prayed for the needs only God recognized. Dan was quiet when I finished and thanked me softly. He sat in his car for a long time before pulling away. I burned with longing for Dan’s salvation; for his release and freedom.
A few days later, I was eating dinner with James and we got a phone call. Chris, our worker, had received a call from Dan’s wife. She told Chris that Dan was extremely drunk and had walked out in front of a car in an attempt to end his life. She told Chris that Dan had been sitting in the street and said, “call the people up at that scrap metal business; I need help”. Chris was able to get Dan into the emergency room where he could be admitted to the hospital and safely detoxed due to his blood pressure. Dan had told us that he wanted to quit drinking, but just didn’t know how to stop. He said his mind was weak and his blood pressure was so high that detoxing from alcohol would cause him to have a heart attack. He was right, yet we knew Lord was more powerful than the chains of his disease. Jesus was making a way.
We didn’t hear from Dan for a few weeks, but one foggy morning that shabby blue car rolled into the scrap yard. A smiling, bright face made his way toward us. There was life dwelling in that man. Dan told us he was admitted into a recovery center in Savannah and had been clean for a month so far. He was going to live with some relatives and start a new job. We haven’t seen Dan since. It is a possibility we haven’t seen Dan because he no longer needs to scrap cans to gain a little bit of cash for a can of beer. There are a lot of possibilities. I don’t know the end to his story. I do know the Lord seeks to keep Dan out of that pit. He seeks him diligently. He wants all of his sheep. He will make a way. I’m overwhelmed every time I remember that My beloved Shepard chose to come and bring me back. His amazing grace even saved a wretch like me.
