Humiliations

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As Mary and I approached Union and Palmer, where the Corner Store is, 6 guys came around the corner. It was Lenny (name changed) and his crew. We'd met Lenny the first summer with some similar folks. I think he said something like, "I'm Satan" "or "I follow Satan" after showing us the tattoo of our Enemy under his arm.

He'd been in and out of prison since and this last week he'd just been released again. "Man, every time I get out of prison Nick shows up. I wonder if it's some kind of sign?" he had said last week.

"Hey, Lenny. What's new," I shouted. The whole group slowly blows by some on the side walk others in the street. Lenny comes up to shake my hand. "Surviving," he says with a shrug. I tried engaging them on sin. It didn't seem to sink in, but they all stopped walking, turned around a listened for a bit. One guy also named Lenny, turned out to be Lenny's dad. Picked up on my religious talk. Thinner guy wearing sun glasses and walking a pit bull. "You got be like Jesus," he told me and explained.

After trying to get a few words in, I realized it didn't matter what I said. As we turned our way, my chest tightened and burned. Prayer had been hard that day, and nothing we said seemed to matter. Humiliating. It was a wonderful moment of friendship with the Lord.