"God Shot" in Downtown Detroit

Today I had a moment that reminded me of God’s presence working in my life, or a “god shot” as my family calls them. While the rest of the group continued on to go visit a community garden, one of the adults and I turned back to get some coffee at Tim Hortons.

Upon walking back we were stopped by a middle-aged woman who pulled us aside and quietly asked for some bus money. I am often highly skeptical of giving anyone money, but I decided to go ahead and do it. I am in downtown Detroit to do mission work this week, and we have a call to serve others in need.

As a Peace Intern, last week I stressed the idea on “What if God was one of us?” 

“One of Us” by Joan Osborne speaks to this saying

“What if God was one of us?

Just a slob like one of us?

Just a stranger on the bus,

Trying to make his way home?

At last weeks camp in Missouri I asked them to listen to the song “The Twenty-First Time” which relays these lyrics.

She may be a stranger trying to get through the day,

But what if it’s Jesus and I walk away?

I say I am the body and I drink of the wine,

But I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time.

As someone who speaks about making peace and justice a priority in everyone’s lives, I needed to walk the walk.

The women spoke about how she was headed to a battered woman shelter and needed the money to be able to take the bus there. Between the two of us we gave her money for the bus and she thanked us profusely. Just as we were about to leave she asked us why were in Detroit since she knew we weren’t from around here. When we simply answered that we were there to do mission work the woman almost broke down. She stated that she had been praying for someone to come along and that God had answered her prayers. What may have only been a few dollars to me had the power to change someone’s life.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to spend this week in Detroit doing important work. Little things that I take for granted in Orange County are not the case here. Today my group spent 6 hours scraping and porches, railings, and security doors at 4 houses. This simple work of revitalizing homes was humbling, and it was great to hear the stories of the homeowners. Hopefully through continuing to work this week it will allow each of us to truly be the change we wish to see in the world.