Romans 5:3-5

Every Tuesday morning Ashley and I have coffee/hot water together at Starbucks on Sheffield and Armitage…the first morning of this ritual AshMac was a little bit late and God led me outside to buy breakfast for the homeless man selling StreetWise. He was a very polite man, he was very grateful, thanked me and told me how beautiful my smile was. Why thank you sir, enjoy your breakfast!

The following week, running a little bit late I parked my car and jumped out. There he was again. He greeted me and I could see a longing in his eyes. We started chatting, and I think Ashley thought I was crazy…

Nathaniel: Can you see it, can you see the majesty?
Me: Yep I can see it. (Not really sure what he’s talking about, starting to wonder if in fact he is crazy.)
Nathaniel: I wish I was on the lake right now.
Me: Oh but it’s so much colder over there! (it was 25 degrees where we were)
Nathaniel: Yes, but it’s worth it, there is nothing better than the glory of God’s sunrise! It’s great from here, but from there…
Me: It sure is beautiful, you keeping warm these days?
Nathaniel: Yea, I’m warm enough, some day though…(he pauses)…there will be no more cold. When I’m in heaven with God, there will be no more cold! But hey, enjoy your breakfast.

I brought him some breakfast and we parted ways, until next week…
He made me think, when was the last time I truly enjoyed God’s creation so purely? When was the last time I shared that joy with a stranger? When was the last time I longed so purely to meet the Lord face to face? Nathaniel’s longings and joy were so pure, and why? Is it because he knows the Lord more deeply than I do, maybe? Is it because he is not held down by all of the materialism of the world, probably? Or is it due to one of my favorite verses…

Romans 5:3-5
3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.