My Favorite Christian

During graduate school, I had a job working at a halfway house. Working there was possibly the scariest thing I have done in my life, but I do have some really good stories from that time.

In the midst of working with drugged out, clinically insane people, there was a bright and shining light named Bev. She worked in the halfway house doing clerical work, and she was a Christian. I was not. I knew she was a Christian within moments of meeting her because she cheerfully and constantly quoted scripture. There was one other staff member besides her who was a Christian, and the two of them left little scripture notes in each other's inboxes.

Bev was probably in her sixties, but her wide smile and overflowing Spirit made her seem much younger. One day she was walking around downtown San Jose (where we worked) and a carload of teen boys started harrassing her. They drove by slowly, catcalling out the window to her in language too rude to print here.

What would you do?

I probably would have turned and run the other way.

What did Bev do?

Bev ran straight towards them. She ran right up to the driver's side window, much to the surprise of the punk sitting there. He tried to speed up, but she was holding tight to the doorjam.

"Do you know what you need?" she panted as she ran alongside the car.

"What?"

"You need Jesus in your life." Bev kept running.

"Oh man, you're crazy." The boys finally sped off, leaving Bev out of breath at the side of the busy street.

Who knows what effect Bev had on those boys. Though it seems that they disregarded her, maybe at some level they were impressed that this lady took the time to treat them respectfully even when they had not done the same to her.

What would this world be like if every Christian was like Bev? Talk about being bold for Christ. Though I wasn't a believer then, I was in awe of her conviction. Lord, please help me to have the courage to be bold for you. Help me to share my belief with non-believers, not just friends who are already Christian. Help me to remember scripture, and to share it with others to build them up in your holy name.