S'more Please

We call ourselves the three wise men, but in reality we’re just a couple of middle-aged men spreading the good news to all who will listen…

We were shivering, even though we were wearing everything we owned, which wasn’t much, around a barely lit fire on that frosty winter night. The three of us were starving, and we hadn’t ate but scraps for the last couple days. We traveled on worn out Nike shoes, too small for us, that Philemon, one of the trio, had spotted hanging out of a trash can. But we thank God for them, cause we could have been walking barefoot otherwise.

It hadn’t always been like this. Not too long ago I was living large. Fancy cars, the best suits, the newest electronics and had a great reputation in the business world, even in church. I wore a fine gold cross for all to see that I was a Christian. I attended almost every service and even volunteered at a majority of the church functions. My heart, on the other hand, wasn’t there, and God was about to show me that I would soon have to count on him, not my money and processions, to make it through.

It happened last fall, and was over before I could say “just my luck”. I was sued for a huge mistake I had made, and it cost me literally everything, and in the blink of an eye it was gone, all of it! The bank took my house and cars. I lost my job, my good name, and nobody wanted to hire me.

The little money I did have, including a loan from my folks went towards a motel so at least I’d have some sort of shelter, but that too soon vanished and I couldn’t afford any more lodging. The only place left to go, was the streets of Tampa. And that’s where I met two angels, Amos and Philemon. They were street ministers who actually lived on the streets, and trusted God to provide everything they needed for them. They were the ones who brought me to God and showed me who he really was just outside of the church.

So here I am over a year later, with my two friends, freezing, around a fire while Amos sings a tune from the book of Habakkuk. We’re going to praise God even though things aren’t going exactly how we planned, and even though I was freezing I had such a joy in my heart, comforted in the fact that God brings us and is with us through EVERYTHING!

Christmas was finally here. We didn’t have any money for gifts or feasts. We just had the word to spread, and our hearts to appreciate the day God gave us his son. We hadn’t planned anything for Christmas day, except to hopefully catch some fish to cook over the fire and celebrate the birth, just the three of us, but God had something better planned.

It was Christmas day, and I was taking a stroll through the surprisingly busy streets of Tampa. Everyone was in such a hurry. They looked like they were on auto-pilot, their minds wondering. I peered across the street and to my astonishment there was my old boss, ole’ Monty Brown, drinking a coffee in front of Star Bucks. I ran across the street to meet him, and he was also astounded to see me. We talked for a few minutes, both to awkward to say much… then he wrapped up the conversation real quick, with a “Well it was great seeing ya again, Merry Christmas”, chucking a ten dollar bill at me, and then he was gone. I definitely wasn’t expecting any kind of gift from him, much less money. All I knew was it was a blessing from the Lord, cause we had no money or food.

I came back to our camp that night with a surprise. I had gone to the store in mind of something cheap to cook over the fire, and bought gram crackers, chocolate, and marsh-mellows. We were going to make S’mores for our Christmas feast!

The boys were so surprised, and excited! They hadn’t made s’mores since boy scouts thirty years ago. We had a great time. It was a blessing from the lord even if they were JUST s’mores. It was food that we got to enjoy together, knowing the Lord provided it all.