A Rhinestone in Heaven

I was a “baby” Christian and I was learning how to hear God’s voice. I was part of a street ministry team. We would go to different parts of the city (Fremont, California) on Friday nights to share our faith and to speak with people. We befriended a “drunk” (I don’t care about being politically correct) who took to liking me in particular. It was a “God thing” ~ a divine appointment ~ we were meant to meet ~ I and he. This gentleman had served in Vietnam. And now he was living on the streets. He’d be there most every Friday night. I couldn’t just leave him. (Of course, there is so much more to this story that a single blog post won’t allow.) So I brought him to my apartment. My roommate (who wasn’t a believer) had a bottle of Vodka on an uppermost shelf. When I woke up in the morning “Rhinestone” (as he was called) had found the Vodka, downed it all and disappeared.

I was getting ready to enjoy a Christian concert in a park with my friends. That’s when God spoke to me, “Go find Rhinestone.” I immediately thought, “That’s the devil.” So I continued to get ready for the concert. That’s when I sensed it again, “Go find Rhinestone.” And you know, you finally just have to do what God says. You just have to. (Who needed to hear it?) I left the concert to find Rhinestone. I drove through the downtown area looking for him at his usual place (in a doorway), but there was no sign of him. “See. It wasn’t God speaking to you after all.” So I turned the car around to head back to the concert. That’s when I saw him. (It was a “God thing” ~ a divine appointment ~ we were meant to meet ~ I and he.) I told Rhinestone to get in the car. This was no small feet. He weighed well over 300 lbs. I drove him to a detox center in Oakland. I checked him in.

(In the meantime, you must know I prayed the sinner’s prayer with Rhinestone. With tears running down his face, he gave his heart to Jesus. He gave his heart to Jesus!)

I didn’t see Rhinestone on the streets after that. It was like he’d fallen off the face of the earth. But then one Friday night, as we were in our usual street ministry place, there Rhinestone was, walking down the street. He was more pleasantly dressed. The alcohol on his breath wasn’t quite as bad as it had been before. And he was praising God! He actually grabbed a guy who was taking the Lord’s name in vain (in a loving bear hug is how I would describe it ~ Rhinestone could have broke a person in half) and told him, “Now, don’t you talk about Him that way.” It was amazing. It was the Lord.

Two weeks later, Rhinestone was found dead of a heart attack in the streets where he’d lived for so long. It was a “God thing” ~ a divine appointment ~ we were meant to meet ~ I and he. (Picture under the Creative Commons license HERE.)