Because you can
A lot of you know I work overnight as a security guard. I love
my job. I will admit I work in a neighborhood that has what I call a life
of its own. I have witnessed some of the weirdest situations ever.
I can’t talk about it all. But I learned something years back
because I used to work on a refinery under construction and I had a lot of free
time. I picked up the habit of praying for those people who worked there.
I go to work at night and while driving I pray for the safety of those I
work with because we’ve seen things you wouldn’t imagine. We have to
patrol a lot lately due to an increase in homeless people and at night we have
to tell them to leave when the campus is closed. You never actually know
what substances those people are on or how they will react. Upscale
security guards have no weapons or fighting training our presence is supposed
to be the deterrent. Each night at work can be weirder than the next.
Just a small summary of some things I’ve seen and dealt with. One
night my friend/coworker and I found a man clearly on something trying to steal
metal and lifting things his physical build shouldn’t have enabled him to be
able to lift. We chased him across our job site into police custody.
I once arrived at the scene after a drunk woman tried to take a tour of
the site in her van popping three of her four tires while off road narrowly
missing buildings and a tennis court fence, insisting she was still on the
road. I have run off multiple homeless people and been scared doing so.
Quick instance. One morning I was checking doors and something told
me to shine my flashlight down. It was definitely a God thing because I
am not Spider-Man and I don’t have his spider sense warning me of danger.
I shined my flashlight, and this woman was laying on the ground wrapped
up in a water hose with a mop on her head. A literal mop you clean with.
Once I found my voice again, I had to tell her she was on private
property and had to leave. I have seen homeless people just appear and
disappear. I’ve seen them hide themselves and belongings in obscure
places. Like I said I pray for our safety. But my life crosses the
paths of others just like yours does. It costs nothing to pray and ask
God to help the people around you. You don’t know what they’re going
through. Here’s an example. I started my job almost two years ago.
While I was in training my wife left me, months later I was divorced.
Someone had to have been praying for me along with my family because I
nearly went crazy. Work and my dog were about the only stability I had.
You go to work with people, and you don’t know the struggles they go
through just to get out of bed to be there. You eat at a restaurant and
your server might just have lost a family member and is fighting just to keep
from crying while they interact with you. This happened to a friend of mine,
and I still pray for her. I know for a fact my mom prays for me when I go
to work. She’s my biggest supporter. I text her when I get there.
I have also have a friend who prays for me. Find someone in your
life and make it a point to pray for them. God will do things you may
never see but you took the time to care enough to pray.
Hebrews 4:16
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There
we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it
most.”
James 5:16
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you
may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power
and produces wonderful results.”
Pray for me by Michael W Smith
