Dominos and Grace

“Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob,

and tell the Israelites:

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how

I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself."

(from Exodus 19:2-8a)

I met the 17-year-old and his family were walking past our house with luggage and plastic bags. 

I asked about this odd procession, a single mom with three boys, and discovered they recently moved into the neighborhood and were walking to the laundromat because they had no car. 

When I met the family again on the way to the laundromat, I asked the teen if he would help me with yard work for a little cash.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

He arrived on the set day and I showed him how to use the trimmer. 

When he finished trimming, I invited him to share some water as we sat on our deck. 

As we chatted, I asked him if he knew how to play dominos.

"No, sir, but I'd like to learn."

We set up a time, he arrived, learned how to play, and we played several games.

During the game, he shared his journey beginning with a cataclysmic event causing his mom to lose her $160,000 salary to more than a year in homeless shelters, to their current home. 

Our Dominos game was an occasion of Grace.

By Grace an epiphany opened me to the experience and emotions of events leading to homelessness.

A face was put on the homeless people I have encountered at church, the Bowery Mission, and at the Port Authority Bus Terminal meal site.

By Grace, the Exodus reading, which relates an account of the past, present, and future of God's people, becomes eternal.

By Grace, God's Covenant with God's people is an assurance of salvation toward a new future. 

By Grace, the LORD, will raise up as on wings of eagles, the wanderer, the seeker, and the prophets.