Agape Freedom Fighters was in Tucson AZ ministering at a local church. We had been teaching, training and equipping prayer teams. Saturday had been an extra long day that began early and ended well into the night with hardly any breaks in the day. I was tired and several times throughout the day would catch my own exhausted mind unable to focus, coffee would have probably been very helpful! We taught on many different areas of Inner Healing throughout the day, giving the prayer team strategies our own AFF team uses in facilitating Inner Healing prayer sessions. As we taught on each subject, there was an undertone continuing to be repeated…. No matter what guidelines or tools we use to train and equip, we must be those who learn to listen to the Holy Spirit.

That night after the last session our team headed to grab a bit to eat before we went back to the hotel. We were all tired, worn out, and also famished. My body and mind loudly said “sleeeep.” While my stomach said “eaattt.” As we walked up to the restaurant we noticed a young man sitting outside on the ground at the corner of the restaurant. He had his head down and a sign up asking for help. One of our spiritual father team members knelt down and gave him money from his wallet. I know this team member didn’t even think twice because it is how he always walks, he walks to bless others with the fathers love.

As I came up behind and looked at this young man with his head down my heart broke. He looked so young, so tender, and so shackled by addiction. The thoughts that flooded my mind were “what if this was one of our boys?” I knelt down and reached out for his hands. As I did, I noticed the dirt lining his finger nails and even in the dark I could see the dirt layer that discolored his hands. Seeing this stirred me to reach out for his hands even more. I said “hey, what’s your name?” He looked up for only a brief moment and looked back down as he told me his name. He was 23. I called him by name and said “Can you look at me for just a minute?”

I then reached gently holding his chin up, feeling the scruff on his face, much like the scruff on my 19 year old’s face when he chooses not to shave. My Momma’s heart was completely engaged at that moment as I could feel the hairs of his overgrowth in my hand. I felt this fierce love and anger rise up deep inside of me for truth to be spoken to him. Not the truth that he was a meth addict, but the truth that he matters, his life matters. I was angry, not at him, but at the enemy of his soul.  I couldn’t get the thought of “what if he were mine” out of my mind. I began to tell him how valuable he is, that his life is important, has purpose and his worth isn’t defined by any choices he has made. I continued to speak strong yet gentle to him, like I would my own child. I was flooded with thoughts of our own boys, their struggles and even the times when our boys have tried to push us away by their behavior or words, which only made us dig in deeper to loving them. We have even had one of ours at a very low moment, tell us to leave him to his own devices, and that he is too far gone to save. These are atrocious lies the enemy of their soul whispers to our younger generation, and the lies must be counteracted with the truth of Jesus.

Recently, the Lord challenged me by asking “would you fight for another child to know my love fiercely like you fight for your own.” That question and invitation hit me deep. And tearfully my answer was “yes.” Yes Jesus, I am all in.  I will speak your words of life into dry, weary, dead places and declare your love and goodness over them like a mother would her own child. The moment with this young meth addicted man took less than 2 minutes, face to face, eye to eye. It was all I could do at that moment. People were not invisible to Jesus, and He has challenged me to carry His compassion and not allow a callous crust to form over my heart even in the inconvenient places, when I am not prepped for “service.” There are places it is easy to be love, when I know I will be stepping into a time of ministering, in a conference or church setting. The times when I am inconvenienced, tired, exhausted and just living life, and Jesus highlights the least of these….. those are the moments I know He desires to teach, and equip His children to carry His Kingdom and love to a lost, dying world well beyond the walls of a building. All the teaching and equipping in the world can only go so far, but connecting and carrying the heart of Jesus to others is our true calling and invitation. It is the true disciple of Jesus. Carrying the Kingdom Inside of us we must speak His words, show His love and be His heart for those who need to know they are visible to a loving Savior.

A beautiful side note: As I arrived home to my family and was sharing this encounter with my husband, he shared a similar experience. As I was in Tucson, he also had the same kind of encounter here in our home town, and had also spoken the words of life and love of Jesus into a lost, weary, dry heart. Family on mission, living His love in the day to day.