Vendor Writing: Inside Out

Inside Out

BY JEFFREY

I am not an author by any means. So it’s going to be difficult at best to pen my feelings. So, the Holy Spirit will have to guide me. Today is Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. I went to my corner to sell papers as usual. Friday has been the day I rely on to get extra money to help during slower days. After a short period of time I knew today Jesus had other plans for my day. So this letter is just that. After many years, many cities and states, something has transpired. Thousands of people have asked, “Where should I go to church, Jeff?” I’ve had no choice but to say, “I do not go myself!” How could I possibly send them to a place where I wouldn’t go? Many have slowly turned into Centers of Seductive Satanism.

This past Sunday was my second time going to the Downtown Presbyterian church in Nashville. When my foot touched the bottom step leading into the sanctuary where people gather to worship their king, Jesus, I felt something upon my first visit, the Sunday prior. Upon entering, a guestbook for people to list their names was properly placed. Normally, I write my name. This time I couldn’t because something was telling me deep inside that this was my new home. You’re not a guest here.

The first Sunday was incredible, so I wanted to go again. The second Sunday was equally amazing to me. Upon entering I was met with one of the warmest, sincere handshakes of my life. Yes, I am a homeless man with unclean clothes. Then, I went inside and picked a seat. It was early, so it was wide open where to sit. People sat directly behind me and greeted me warmly. Someone else sat a short distance on my right and did the same. I sat through the service and felt a warmness that I haven’t felt before. I also was pleased at the presence of the Holy Spirit. Everything I experienced was absolutely perfect to me. After the service was over, I was asking Jesus about the warmness I felt. The answer was beyond humbling. What I felt was the love that each and every one had felt for me. It was inside them and could be felt outside them!! Just as Simon on America’s Got Talent says, “It’s either in you or it’s not. You can’t fake it.” These people had all actually given me the “golden buzzer.” So a man who was once alone in a strange-to-him city, now has a family, friends and a safe place to worship our King.

As Jesus is really good at doing, he validated this even more in the physical. We’ve all used the expression, “Home is where the heart is.” So this past Wednesday the director of vending at The Contributor, Tom, let me know I had mail in the Contributor office. I got it, but something was telling me I didn’t understand yet. This morning, I understood. It wasn’t what was inside the mail, it was that which was outside that mattered more. The laws of the land are such that, the place where your mail is sent, is where you live. How wonderful is it that my church family, friends and home came so quickly, I couldn’t care less about sleeping in a tent, I know where home now is!! Precisely just as the song goes, “All my ex’s live in Texas, that’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee!” With tears in my eyes, and joy in my heart, I can say, “ I made it home!” On Sunday it was made clear, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future!”

Thank you to all the people of Nashville for hell;iong me to find home, be on my post and live with dignity by purchasing The Contributor