Evictions & Eternity

I missed that one big time.





I received a call last week from a young woman who'd gotten my number from someone on the streets. She was about to be evicted from her apartment and she didn't know where to turn.





She worked at the local Taco Bell but her car had broken down last month and the repairs took her rent payment. She wasn't sure what to do.





Normally at this point, I tell the caller that evictions are not something I can help with. While it makes sense to help people BEFORE they end up on the streets, the current funding available is for homeless rehousing not prevention.





But this girl was different. I felt a strong urging to do more.





I made some calls and was able to secure her rent payment plus late fees. I just had to submit a letter to the landlord confirming the amount we would pay and then gather mounds of paperwork before the check could be cut.





The girl provided everything I needed in record time.





Today I went to the leasing office to get the landlord's signature and a record of arrears. We were making small talk while she searched for the needed documents online. All of a sudden she stopped.





"I can't do this," she said.





When I walked in she had been trying to figure out how to work her new smartphone. Was she talking about the phone still? Was she talking about her computer? Perhaps technology wasn't her strong suit.





We stared at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds as I tried to understand.





Finally she spoke. "Her rent isn't late."





My mind started racing faster than I could process the thoughts. Was I being set up?   Am I being Punk'd? Is this a mass murderer luring people in to chop their heads off? She was still looking at me so strangely. I tried to calm my racing heart.





"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I say I'm a Christian and then..." her voice trailed off.





In that moment I realized two things: I'd been involved in some sort of scam and  the landlord had come face-to-face with the Holy Spirit and fallen on her knees.





The story came tumbling out. This girl called organizations each month with similar stories and hadn't once paid her rent in over a year. She had, in fact, gotten an eviction notice but found someone else to pay it and wanted my check to cover September's rent. She'd done that many times before but no-one had requested the paperwork so the landlord always went along with it.





I wasn't angry; I appreciated her honesty. I thanked her and was leaving, the situation already a closed chapter in my head.





She couldn't let it go. She begged for my forgiveness. I tried to dismiss it as unnecessary at first. Then I realized the magnitude of her sorrow and knew this wasn't about me.





It wasn't about the girl who played the system.





It was about this landlord and her relationship with the Lord.





The realization made me feel better about how wrong I could've been to make an exception for the girl. This situation was all designed to walk into that office today and minister to a woman who needed to face God and take inventory of her life.   





We visited for awhile and she shared the story of her life. We talked about a merciful and loving God who is always waiting with outstretched arms. Her repentance wasn't about rent payments at all.





Today I didn't help someone avoid eviction; I helped someone avoid eternity without Jesus.