K. is a street singer, an older man whose voice you can hear on a corner of lower Broadway, ringing out clear and true down the street. Stopped at the light, I listened to him the first time I saw him, and I loved his rendition of a true classic.
He was working for money, and we weren’t quite sure if he would want food instead of money. Over time we understood that he was singing to pay for a nightly room, and we noticed that he didn’t leave his corner until he made what he needed to make.
When I first stopped and asked if he wanted food, he hesitated and seemed conflicted about answering. Sure enough, he said, “There are other people out here who need it more than I do.”
As he saw us continue to show up to pray with people and give food to them, he also realized that we had enough to share. He asked for prayer and told us a bit of his story.
He was, in fact, working to pay nightly hotel fees at a chain where his son works and where he got a family discount. It was hour-to-hour work, not so easy and with its own daily stress, but he was thankful for it. And he was clearly in a better position than the people sleeping outside.
I prayed for him and asked God to bring him his income and his home, with monthly rent, where he could settle in. The chicken and biscuit dinner may have been helpful, but in that moment, he knew what he had to accomplish.,
“Tonight I need ten more dollars so I can pay for my room,” he told us.
As we continued feeding other people, we noticed an audience standing and listening to him, and when he left for the night, we knew he had that night’s rent.
The next time we saw him, maybe a week or so later, he came over to the car and excitedly told me, “Young lady, your prayers are powerful.” He was thankful. And really, it’s always God who is powerful. Our job is to listen to Him and let Him guide us to His good.
The next time we saw K., another few weeks later, he stopped between songs and talked with us. He told us he had started a landscaping business out in Franklin and that the people he was working for had even come to hear him sing.
In prayer, he asked for repairs to the lawnmower that he had bought, and I also asked again for a home that he could move into so he could pay monthly rent. It was clear from the outside that God was moving him into a better state and that things were working out for him.
When I saw him singing last night, I got out of the car and said, “You probably don’t need this, but here’s a sandwich.”
I’m not sure if he even heard me, and what I said was beside the point. This night he was telling me, sweetly and with excitement, “I moved into a house! I moved into a house!”
I cheered for him. He’s still working in Franklin, and now he has a home. People were listening attentively to him singing, and I saw that he was getting tips.
I’m still praying for K., and I have an idea that God is fulfilling even more of his hopes and dreams. I look forward to the day when someone features him in a music video, or maybe even invites him to sing onstage!
Thank you to all the good people who hire people in need.
All the honor and all the praise and all the glory go to God.
In Your Name, Jesus. Amen.
~ Julie