Every day at OIM, we put out our sandwich board to let those passing by know when our services are available. It's hard to walk around the downtown core without having to dodge a sign or two or a dozen. They are everywhere. Are they important? Yes, and let me explain why.
One particularly cold Wednesday, as our group was winding down, the doorbell rang. So naturally, I answered the door expecting one of the Veterans who had to leave early to say they had forgotten something. I was wrong.
A gentleman, whom we’ll call Mitch, stood at the door and very apprehensively acknowledged being a Veteran and asked what our group was about because he saw our sign. We welcomed him in, prepared a meal for him and sat down for a chat to let him know how the group works and to confirm that this group is strictly for Veterans. He was stunned.
He had never heard of a group specifically for Veterans and wanted more information. A couple of other attendees at the next table began to lay out just what I had already said to the man. However, they added one piece I hadn’t mentioned. “It’s all free!” Mitch’s jaw dropped open. “Seriously?” he said. I confirmed and advised that he had paid the price with his service in the military and, as it turned out, took shrapnel to the leg for our freedom. How do we put a price on that?
This also opened the doorway for me to talk about our Saviour, who paid the ultimate price for each of us. Mitch looked at me with tears in his eyes. “No one has spoken to me about Jesus since my grandmother.” Talk about being speechless!
How many opportunities do we miss talking about Jesus? How many have open ears to hear and hearts to absorb the good news? Yet, we miss those opportunities because we don’t want to push or don’t want to appear ‘preachy.’ We ignore the sign!
That day, I had the opportunity to let Mitch know that Jesus is still there waiting for him to open his heart. Why? Because we had a sign that invited him into our building!
Sometimes, we get so used to seeing signs around that we don’t pay much attention to them. My prayer is that we pay attention to the signs that are placed on our paths as God may be leading us to something great!
~ Elizabeth, IVOS Associate
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