The Road of Obedience Less Traveled

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”—Robert Frost

On a walk through her neighborhood with her beagle, Hashbrown, my dear friend Jan came upon a trail which, she discovered later, was really “the road less travelled.” She could have stayed on the sidewalk and may have never discovered the two homeless men who had taken up a dilapidated residence at the other end of the trail. She also would have never had to experience the frustration, the anxiety, the loss of money….or even the true joy of obedience.

Jan discovered Mike and Ron living under a makeshift tarp which poorly kept their shabby belongings and filthy bodies from the snow and rain. Mike, not even 50, looked like a man in his 60’s and was in ill health from the devastating effects of alcoholism. Ron, 40 something, was scruffy and had a wacky, half shaved hairdo. His “job” was to sign (beg with a cardboard sign) on the street corner so he could buy food, cigarettes and alcohol—mostly alcohol—for the both of them.

The guys seemed harmless enough and Jan’s merciful heart bonded with them. On several occasions, Jan and her daughter-in-law, Kate, would bring soup, a bucket of KFC chicken, homemade cookies, phone cards, and grocery store gift certificates. Jan and her husband, Danny, have already been in the mode of giving. Every month, for the past five years, they have been serving dinner to the homeless at Operation Nightwatch in downtown Seattle. On their designated day, Jan and Danny slave over a humongous hot stove making a hot meal. Her grown kids, my son, Josh, and I show up later to serve and wash dishes. I enjoy these nights and have been dubbed the “dessert girl” as I engage the homeless in conversation while serving up day old scones and donuts. Ministering to two homeless guys in their habitat, was putting Jan and Danny on a whole new level of sacrifice.

Thanksgiving week this past year brought tremendous frigid temperatures, snowfall, and school closures. Jan’s heart grieved for Mike and Ron as she imagined them shivering under their tarp. Her husband, Danny, and her son, Caleb, bundled up to go watch cars slide down the steep road by their house for entertainment. We Washingtonians aren’t used to snow and ice and don’t know how to drive in it! They thought about the “homeless guys”, our loving term for them, so they walked the trail to check on them. After viewing Mike and Ron’s condition, Danny and Caleb brought them home to sleep on a couch for at least one night of warmth. I had Thanksgiving dinner at the Millers and met the two new guests—somewhat polished up and showered.

The night turned into several days and involved spraying the couches with Febreeze, until Jan and Danny decided to put the guys in a hotel. The winter weather was just not letting up. From December to March, the Millers paid for Mike and Ron’s hotel room. Occasionally, friends would offer some financial support. Ron continued to sign. One day, while Ron was signing, a woman gave him an envelope with $1,000 in it and said, “This is from Jesus.” Other times, Ron was lucky to make $4 in a day. The Millers took them for checkups and dental work which Christian doctors benevolently provided. Our friend Terri, worked tirelessly to find birth certificate information so Mike could get admitted to the Veteran’s Hospital. My tiny contribution was a small amount of cash and some homemade chocolate chip cookies. A lot of people were pouring their lives and resources into Ron and Mike—showing them true Christian love. It was obvious that Jesus was reaching out to these men through His people.

On Superbowl Sunday, I went to the Miller’s house for the day’s festivities and spent time with the guys. Mike’s alcoholism had taken a toll on him—his face was an ashen yellow color, his legs were incredibly swollen, and he could hardly walk. Mike was in and out of sleep and didn’t even seem to care that his beloved Steelers were losing. The Miller’s begged to take him to the VA emergency room, but Mike refused believing somehow, that his leg would have to be amputated. A day after his 50th birthday, Mike finally let the Millers take him to the Vet’s Hospital. He was nearly comatose and near death. His liver was shot. For six weeks he remained in a coma with pneumonia and alcohol related problems while many prayed for his life to be spared. Faithfully, Jan and Danny, their grown children, and friend, Terri, visited Mike even though he rarely gave a response.

Meanwhile, while Mike was in the hospital, Ron remained in the hotel room, continued to sign, and attended church with the Millers—sometimes he was even inebriated. Occasionally he would weep at the service and really seemed to want to change. Jan has suggested several free rehab places that Ron doctors could go to dry up and get his life back. He refused to go because he said would feel like he’s “in prison”. Instead he now remains a prisoner of alcohol addiction. The Millers can no longer keep Ron in the motel room and since he has refused to go to rehab, Ron is back to living in the woods.

Praise God, Mike recovered. Even though Mike had actually detoxed during those weeks in a coma, doctors said he would still think he needed to drink because he didn’t have a memory of detoxing. I stopped by the Vet’s Hospital with Jan the other night to visit Mike. He was getting around in a wheel chair and looked remarkably improved. It was the first time I noticed his vibrant blue eyes—the first time they seemed to have life in them. The doctors have emphatically told him that he needs 24 hour care and that he needs to take his medicine faithfully and not drink again or he will die. Mike is being discharged this week. He doesn’t want to go to the free rehab or the convalescent hospital. Instead, he wants to go live in the woods with Ron. It’s what he knows and the alcohol addiction is so strong.

Many people have known about the “homeless guys”. Some have prayed and some have donated. So many people have made sacrifices and given Mike and Ron a golden opportunity to change their deadly lifestyle. They are grateful for what has been given to them, but the lure of alcohol is irresistible to them. Jan and Danny have poured so much of their life and resources out to Mike and Ron these past nine months. I asked Jan last night how she was feeling about all the effort she poured into these men only to have them go back to the same lifestyle. She told me that she was dealing with that the other night and the Lord told her, it wasn’t about the homeless guys changing, it was about her changing!

Every generous thing Jan does seems to involve more and more sacrifice and I am awestruck even more each time. She doesn’t do these things to be “good”, or to work her way to heaven. She simple does it because she loves Jesus and wants to obey him. Every cup of cold water given in His name is as if we have done it unto Him. Besides showing me how to sacrificially pour myself out to the hurting, the homeless, the hungry, Jan has shown me how to be obedient—even when change doesn’t happen.

Our obedience to God is not measured in the success it brings about, but in our willingness to obey regardless of the outcome. Yes, I’ve learned a valuable lesson from my friend, and…..the story of Mike and Ron is not over yet.

“But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (I John 2:5-6 NIV)

“And this is love, that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” (2 John 1:6 NIV)

“When Jesus heard this, he said to him. “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22 NIV)