Faith vs Fear
The words “Fear” and “Faith” have dominated my thoughts and my world lately. I see such stark contrast between the two…
I have a couple of homeless friends that at one time were a couple. My friend J has had multiple back surgeries and he ends up back in the woods just days after major surgery! This winter he experienced a fall on the ice and was unable to move for several days. It was cold and he was in a tent. I thought about him and prayed for him every day until finally one day he could take it no more. He called me to please come and help him get to the hospital.
I wanted to call 911, but he said, "No, please. I'll make it out, and you can take me to the ER". He took a shot of "pain medication" and made his way to meet me. The journey took him 45 minutes (normally a 15 minute trek). The pain was excruciating even with the drugs. He could barely walk, and when we saw him coming from the woods we rushed to help him. We threw a blanket around him and three of us loaded him into my truck and dropped him off at the ER. Three weeks later, I finally heard from him again. He sounded good, not great. He is recovering in a nursing home/rehab facility on IV antibiotics for a month awaiting another surgery to repair the damage to his spine.
He exhibited Faith to me. Faith that he could walk himself out of the woods, faith that we would be there to help, faith that the doctors that have taken care of him in the past will do so again and faith that the suboxone will help him kick the addiction to live a better life after the next surgery.
More than all this, I have Faith in the Lord that he will see better days and we will help him find a decent place to live out his days. I love our friend J. He has always been a special person to us all. Kind and gentle in spirit.
My friend K and J were a couple at one time. J had his health issues and K was not able to "care" for him. She would come and go a lot and also has a very special place in our hearts. Her struggle is real, but her battle is based in Fear . The fear that staying clean is too hard and it's easier to avoid jail, rehab, detox, or any kind of treatment rather than face the fear of going through the mental and physical anguish of detoxing.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
It's the mental demons that drive this addiction, and it’s the fear based reality that haunts an addict. It's the fear that drives them to do whatever they have to do to get that dope and ease the pain of withdrawal. This friend is in danger of jail time or death. Hopefully jail and freedom from addiction through sitting down in there for an extended time. God only knows. I love my friend K and pray for her all the time too. She has a beautiful kind spirit as well.
The world as I experience with the homeless is so different from the world we all live in. Yet, these two emotions: Faith and Fear are what I see driving so many people outside the homeless camp….though in a different way. It's astounding to me the polarization of opinions and even friends are on opposing "sides" in so many ways. It makes me so sad to think of how careful we have to be today with our thoughts and opinion on the hot topics of the day. Politics, the virus, the vaccine, and everything else seem to be wedges dividing families, communities, and friends. I must say there are times I get frustrated at the demanding behavior of some folks. What gets me through is that the Lord has blessed me with a spirit of Faith and not Fear. I walk by Faith and not by sight, trusting God no matter what happens. The difference between survival and death, hope and despair, love and hate, is faith in the God of all hope who loved us and gave Himself for us (Ephesians 5:2).
