MUNDANE WARFARE

"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the (help) of those years  wherein we are set, uprooting evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till"

                                                                                      J.R.R. TOLKIEN, The Return of the King

Driving into the parking lot, he catches my eye right away---young, probably mid twenties, face mostly covered with a black hoodie, furiously puffing on a cigarette, eyes nervously darting here and there---a blackish grey color surrounds him.

As I open my car door

I can sense it immediately,  coming from his direction

fear

despair

decay

chaos

emanating from him--

it is all over him.

Afterwards, coming out of the building, having finished my business,     he is still there-- the same hopeless look on his face--

lost hollow eyes, skin pasty- scarred -ravaged..... it is devouring him physically and spiritually.

I purposely try to make eye contact--acknowledge him as a human being...

"Hello"

"Hello," he says and startles at being noticed.  He hurriedly slinks into the back seat of the car, sitting in the dark shadows, a place he seems to find more comfortable than the brilliant sunshine of the day.

As I drive away, I think about him...what was he like before the bondage of addiction??

someone's

 son

brother

child

now just a 

ghost

lost soul

shell of a life

I can't do it

I can't just ignore it when I know what will help

I turn my car around and pull up next to his.  There he is...still hiding in the darkness.

As I approach his car, his small puppy sitting on the seat beside him seems to also sense something is wrong and rushes over to greet me.

Will he think I'm crazy??

a fanatic??

a weirdo??

But it doesn't matter.  I know what I have to do

"Here, this is for you"

I hand him one of my favorite prayer cards--the one I use in times of serious trouble

He doesn't seem surprised at all

Almost like he was waiting for something like this to happen

He looks at the card, studies it, turning it over and over then says quietly

"Thanks"

"Promise me you will use it.  It will change things for you"

"Ok"

Maybe he will

Maybe he threw it out of the window the minute I left

But hopefully he realizes that someone does care enough to notice

And that there are people that are willing to help...

pull him back out of the depths

lift him up

push back

go to Battle for him

"We are not placed when and where we are by accident anymore than Bilbo or Frodo.  We are given experiences, molded in a particular way, and set along specific roads, so that we may be in the right place at the right time.....

We must find the courage to leave our comfortable and secure hobbit holes for an exhilarating and terrifying adventure that will bring us alive....." 

on Spiritual Warfare in everyday life

from Moments of Grace and Spiritual Warfare in the Lord of the Rings, Ann Marie Gazzolo