The original post right here –
http://Erikabh.com – Erika is an amazing writer – check her stuff out there.
My wife called me and this is what she said was happening.
There are a few reasons why I want to share an experience I had yesterday, so bear with me.
Around noon I arrived home with my youngest. As I was getting her out of the car, I noticed an older gentlemen standing in the middle of my street looking at me. Unfortunately, I’m very skeptical and leery of most people. I wish it didn’t have to be that way, but that’s just the world we live in today. So with my eyes peeled I watched as I continued to unload the car. A few minutes passed and he was still standing in the same place. He appeared to be very cold, and his demeanor was very none threatening. Honestly, he looked like a little boy who was lost. I began to pray, “Lord, I’m about to make a decision here, help me to be wise and careful.” I never want to do anything that puts myself in danger, but more importantly, I now have a one year old in my house sleeping that I would do anything to protect. At this point I’m on very high alert. I approached him and asked him if there was anything I could help him with. Immediately, I had peace. The man was clearly ill, and couldn’t give me any information about himself. No id, he couldn’t give me any phone numbers, nothing. He said, “I’m so sorry, I’m lost and I can’t remember how I got here. Where am I?” I told him, “You’re in Katy Texas, where do you live?” “McClellan. They just dropped me off. I don’t know why I’m here.” Oh heavens, I thought! What am I supposed to do with this man? So, I loaded him up and drove him to the local police department. The entire time praying “Lord, I have absolutely no clue how to help this person, please help.” We arrived at the police station and I gave them all the information I had. His name was Armondo, and he was seventy-four years old, and he lived in McClellan Texas. That was it. We sat with the deputy for quite some time trying to pull all the information out of him that we could together. As this was happening his son called the police department looking for him! What a relief. We learned that Armondo has Dementia and is, in fact, from McClellan. He is here visiting his son only two doors down from me. I also learned that he doesn’t sleep at night. He paces and talks. His sweet wife stays up with him most nights, and when she went in to take a short nap yesterday, he got out of the house. I don’t know a lot about Dementia, but for a small part of my day yesterday, I got a front row seat. I waited with Armondo for his son and wife to come pick him up. When I got in my car to head home, I lost it. It absolutely broke my heart. Here is the reason I’m even sharing this. Not to say look how nice I am because any of you would’ve done the exact same thing, so don’t let me fool you, I’m not that nice of a person. My point is, this happened two doors from my house. A mere fifty yards from my front door. We can’t fathom the things that people are going through all around us, right in our back yards! People’s realities even just a house over could potentially be very grim day in and day out. There is potential EVERYWHERE to reach out and love on someone. This was an eye opener for me. Armando needed my help yesterday, but he helped me in a way I didn’t even realize I needed. I want to be more aware of those around me, especially in my neighborhood. Same could go for you. Be aware and intentional about getting to know those around you, and allow the Lord to use you to really bless some people by just being a smiling face or a listening ear!
