Smitty came to Faith Mission like many before him. He had lived on the streets for years, fought an incessant drug addiction and was suffering from poor health. He first said he just wanted a bed for the night. He hung around for a while and decided to enter the New Beginnings Addiction Recovery program.
Not being used to structure and rules, Smitty struggled in the program. He constantly pushed back against the boundaries. He said over and over that he really wanted to change, but his actions said something different.
When it was his turn to work in the kitchen, his attitude seemed to improve. In fact, he began to flourish.
It was as if he had found purpose for the first time. He bucked the system less and started showing some interest in making changes.
Unfortunately, this turn was temporary. You see, Smitty had a short temper, and someone decided to test it one day in the kitchen. Resorting to old behavior that had kept him alive on the streets and in prison, Smitty pulled a knife and threatened the other guy. That was the final straw, and he was dismissed from the program.
Not willing to give up completely, our program director called Smitty into his office before he exited and made him an offer. He had called the shelter in OK City with a similar program and cleared the way for Smitty to come in. We stayed in touch for a while but eventually lost track of him.
Fast forward 10 years. I was sitting in my office and the receptionist said there was someone who wanted to see me. I walked to the front lobby and when I turned the corner, there he was … Smitty. Alive and well. He grabbed me before I knew what was happening and gave me a big bear hug. Here he was. Back to say that he had been sober for ten years, had given his heart to Jesus and had been working at the same job in OK City for 8 years. His family relationships were restored, and he even spent holidays with them. Smitty was a new man. He thanked me for saving his life and never giving up on him. Of course, he and I both knew it was a team effort.
I was reminded me that day that success doesn’t always look the same. Sometimes we see them graduate or move on to their new life and sometimes we don’t. But we are always planting seeds. And those reunions down the road are amazingly sweet.
