Waiting?

Jan_2
Originally uploaded by Nikocrash.

I want to introduce you to Jan (John in English). I visited Jan's home yesterday while waiting for my friends in Prague. I didn't know it was his home when I went there, I was just trying to find a place to sit. So I found this place next to Jan, and without knowing it, I was invited into his home and shown hospitality. He entertained me by feeding some pigeons, which later I found out were his friends, and we shared a conversation that I will not soon forget! Jan has been living at the bottom of Václavské Náměstí (a famous square in Prague) by a metro station for the past 15 years. This place I found to sit and wait has become his home.
When I sat down I couldn't help but notice Jan, the way he was dressed the food he was eating, and the way others avoided him or stared at him. I sat there a while watching and genuinely enjoying watching him feed the birds. It was that action that sort of broke the ice for us... he spoke first in telling me they were his friends and from there we had a nice conversation about life and what brought us both to this moment in life. He told me about his family who refuses to speak with him, but how it doesn't matter now because he has everything that he needs. He told me of his many friends who give him money, food, and clothes. When I asked him if there was anything he needed, his reply was quick- he had all that he needed. We continued talking until he crossed the square and laid down in the shade to take a late morning nap.
The rest of the day I spent walking around Prague and could not get Jan out of my thoughts. We went to a market and were just walking around looking at all the things to buy that we didn't need... my thoughts were still with Jan and I could picture him there sitting in his home eating out of a can with just a knife... and then we walked past a vendor who was selling, among other things, SPOONS! So I stopped and asked if I could just buy one spoon and so after laying down a hefty 4 Czech crowns (15 US cents) I walked away from the market place a proud owner of a simple small spoon! Soon we were back close to Jan's home and I went for another visit and gave him this spoon...
He grabbed my hand, kissed it, thanked me and slipped the spoon into his shirt pocket. I said goodbye and walked away. I know he said he didn't need anything, but sometimes things we need are not the big things in life, but the simple things... like a spoon. I am not sure who was sent to whom yesterday! God showed me many things through my brief interaction with Jan. Even though Jan didn’t want to talk about God, my prayer is that he will find that he needs Jesus! Sometimes I don’t think we always realize what we have need of until we receive something then we realize we had need of that all along... Sort of like Salvation- most of us had no clue we were in such great need of being saved... But once we were given salvation (which cost a lot more then 4 Czech crowns) we realized and are realizing just how much we need it, how much we ARE in need of HIM!
If you ever go to Prague look for Jan- he will be sitting there probably waiting- waiting for his next meal that he can share with the pigeons, or waiting for another year to go by, or simply waiting for one more person to come and share the love of Christ with him... Jan has a great need... But we are no different at all... We are waiting just like him! We have needs just like he has! And we each need Jesus just as much as my new friend, Jan, needs Jesus! God has the same love to give to each of us! May we go on in His love! What are we waiting for?