A Bed for the Night, Hope for the Future

While I was down in Florida, I met a man named Kerry. Kerry is an Army medic veteran who had been homeless for over a year.

When I first passed by him, I was on my way to get my son home for his nap, but I stopped long enough to ask if he wanted something to eat. He smiled and simply asked for a cheeseburger. After dropping my wife and son off, I came back with a double cheeseburger meal from McDonald’s — because if you’re getting a cheeseburger, it might as well be a double.

As we sat and talked, Kerry shared more of his story. He had been medically discharged after being shot in the leg while serving in the military. Since then, he had been waiting for assistance and payments from the military, but until those came through, he had nowhere to stay and no stable income.

Kerry told me he had not slept in a bed for over a year.

For the past six months, he had been sleeping on a concrete park bench and relying on donations just to eat. Growing up, he had spent years in and out of foster care until he turned 18. Ironically, he said the military was the most stable home he had ever known.

That night, a cold front was moving in, so I took Kerry to a hotel so he could have a warm room, a bed, and breakfast waiting for him the next morning.

But more meaningful than the hotel was the conversation that happened afterward. Kerry opened up about his doubts, fears, and questions about God. He said he wanted to believe God had a plan for his life, but he was struggling to trust that God still saw him in the middle of everything he had been through.

When I asked how I could pray for him, he said he wanted freedom from the stress and anxiety he carried every day, and hope that there truly is a God who loves him and cares for him.

So join me in praying for Kerry — that God would reveal Himself in a real and undeniable way so the he cane one to know Jesus Christ, and that Kerry would know his life has value, purpose, and dignity.