My friend Ronda

I have a friend. Her name is Ronda. She's married to a great guy, has two wonderful kids who are grown up and out of the house. She lives in a beautiful home in town. She has a good life. We love this family. She is blonde, maybe 5'2" (maybe :-)), petite and feisty. Just ask the soccer referee's when they make a less than pleasing call!! She also has a huge heart.

I met Ronda about 15 years ago. We were both coaching under 8 girls soccer teams at the time. Her family is really into soccer and so am I. So through coaching and league meetings and organizing the local teams we became friends. Whenever I was in trouble she seemed to show up. Being new to the league and how things were supposed to work, I constantly found myself self on the wrong end of some logistical mess. I'd forget the field permit, Ronda would show up unannounced and have one with her. I didn't know how to arrange my players paperwork for the leauge reigstrar, Ronda would appear from somewhere with an organizer. This happened so frequently I started to call her my soccer fairy. She was a wonderful blessing. Her family started coming to Abundant Life where I pastor about 10 years ago. That was a great day as my worlds connected.

A few months ago Ronda was driving by a familiar part of Mt. View when she saw a man, a homeless man with his sign and a dog named Penny. His name is Andre'. Andre' is an older black man with no friends or family but with a past. He's been in trouble many times and because of his choices and life problems has landed in this lonely, homeless place. Ronda felt the nudging of Jesus to stop and offer some help. She did and gave him a little something. She left him after a brief interchange but the moment lingered in her heart. A few days later she went back again and spent a little more time getting to know Andre'. She gave him some more help too. Her visits became more and more frequent as she felt her heart saying, "Jesus said we ARE the church where ever we are, we don't just go to church. I think Jesus would love this person and be his friend. So that is what I am going to do." Ronda became Andre's friend.

She began to meet Andre' regularly. She would go by his corner and talk to him. She'd bring him things. Just like she was a soccer fairy to me, she was being Jesus to Andre'. They were becoming the strangest of friends brought together by a single act of kindness and a determination to not simply toss some religion at him to appease her own conscience but to actually make a difference.

Andre' got picked up on some drug dealing charges and is no longer on his corner but is spending his days in jail for a while. She was in the courtroom as his only support when he was charged. But what will happen to Penny??? She's all he's got! Penny lives at Ronda's house now. Ronda has given a home to the only friend a homeless man has. She has a dog already and really didn't want another one but she decided that this is what Jesus would do so she is doing it. She feeds and bathes and walks and sits with Andre's dog until he gets out of prison. She visits him in prison too. She and her husband go regularly because they are the church, they don't go to church.

Why is she doing all of this?? He doesn't deserve it! He's a drug dealer! Well, Ronda figures that when Jesus said, "When you visited the prisoner you visited me." that these guys had done some bad stuff too and still deserved love. I mean, Jesus said that doing it for them was doing it for Him so she wants to do it for Jesus.

Andre' has written some letters to her. Funny thing, those letters are changing in tone as their friendship grows. He's thankful. He's appreciative and he talks about God. This man who a few months ago had nothing, now has something more precious than gold. He has a friend and he is getting to know Jesus.

I read in 1 Thessalonians a couple days ago where it says, "We gave you the Gospel but we loved you so much we gave you our lives as well." Ronda is giving much more than the Gospel, she's giving her life as well which is the verification of the Gospel. She's showing Andre' the Gospel not just telling him about it.

It's a long way from the soccer field to the county jail but it now is clear that heaven is a lot closer to a homeless man's street corner than we ever thought.