I met Max in the park. Now, the park is really small. Because ....ville is small, the park is small. Actually, there are two parks. One is in the center of town and has been there since the 1890s. It has a gazebo and swings.
The second park is outside the town limits and one needs a car to get there. This park is where people go for picnics. There is a softball diamond in the park, and a swimming pool.
Max and James have "their" bench in the park. The homeless shelter backs onto this small park and is connected to the Methodist church. However, the Methodists do not run the shelter, the city actually does.
Max told me there were thirty men at any given time who stay in the shelter overnight. Some are from Memphis. There are shower stalls, the lock boxes, and breakfast. Lunch and dinner are not provided, but the Catholic Church has a dinner twice a week for any poor people who want to come. James and Max go there. That is where Max met Will last year.
Today, in March, James is still "going on" about Mike. Max knows that James is scared of death. But, Max is patient. He knows that James is not ready to hear about Christ and sin and death. Max believes in hell and in heaven.
Max told me this story. He was in a hospital in an eastern state, when he came back from the Middle East, and he was considering suicide. His old secularist ideas could not help him understand the deaths of Joe and Sam. No one visited him in the hospital at all. Max's family, well-to-do and ashamed of him, never visited him, not once.
The night Max had decided to take his life something happened. Max was in the hospital room when he felt a strong wind. He looked around. The two windows were the kind which were permanently shut. He had a night light in his room, which was sparse. He had a little hand electric "bell" to call a nurse if he wanted one.
Max said he just put his head under a pillow. Then, he heard someone talking to him. "You have been measured and found wanting."
Max remembered the passage in Daniel regarding the king who died the night he saw this handwriting on the wall. Max sat up in his bed. He told me he felt cold and scared. Then, he saw someone standing in the corner of the room. It looked just like Death in the movies. This thing was black and hooded. Max stared.
Then, Someone Else came up and stood between Death and Max. This Man was so bright, so beautiful, Max could hardly look at Him. This Man did not speak to Max, but turned to Death in the corner and said this, "He does not belong to you. He belongs to Me. Look at My Wounds."
Death disappeared, "just like that" said Max. Then, the Bright Man held out His Hands to Max. Max saw the holes in the Hands. He knew Who this Man was. This was Christ.
Max reached out to touch the Hands, but the vision disappeared. The room was warm and a pleasant odor filled it. Max laid back down on the bed, stunned. Then, he noticed something. He no longer had any thoughts of suicide. He felt a deep peace. He told me he felt a great love welling up in his heart.
Then, Max sobbed and sobbed. The nurse must have heard him and came in. She was alarmed, but Max assured her he felt just fine.
The nurse insisted on taking all his vitals. Max wanted to laugh. He never felt healthier in his life.
By the end of the week, he was allowed to leave the hospital. He was deemed to be no longer a danger to himself.
When he walked out the door of the hospital, Max said Someone was walking next to him. Max knew the Person was Christ. Max stopped in the parking lot. "You should not be walking next to me, but ahead of me. I should be following You." Christ answered Max. "You are one of my Chosen People. I shall walk next to you always."
Max told me that from that day, he was sure Christ was with him always. Even when he is without work or a house, Max states that Christ is with him. Even today, in the homeless shelter, Max knows Christ is there.
to be continued....