D, DD, and a Miracle in the Making

Before I start, it’s stories like this that make it difficult to walk away from being a probation officer. The stories we have the privilege of watching unfold are nothing short of amazing. I simply wish there were more of them…but I’ll enjoy this one!

Background

We’ll start with “D” but will get to “DD” and the Miracle towards the end of the story…which in reality, is not the end…but a beginning.

I heard about Dude (“D”) years ago, but had never met him. A very tough and compassionate coworker supervised Dude, and she would make him sit in the probation lobby until he peed-in-a-cup (not in the lobby because that would be a new charge!). She had very real concerns he was using heroin and that he might overdose. He had overdosed 6 times previously, needing first responder’s to bring him back from the brink…so everytime this P.O. met with him, there was a legitimate concern that meeting may be their last. I won’t go into detail about all the interventions she attempted because that’s not the story here…but she worked hard with Dude.

Dude’s probation was revoked and he was resentenced to probation. During the summer of 2017, I had the opportunity of meeting him because his old P.O. had moved on and his current P.O. was out for a bit.

Although I supervised him only a short period of time, I believe it was an ordained encounter, and I believe we connected because Dude heard some serious truth about his circumstances and he chose to believe it. I’ll spare the preaching here…but when I say “truth”, I mean “Truth”.

A Crazy Question

Probably a year after our first meeting, Dude was enjoying sobriety and doing well on probation. He came into the probation office to meet with his P.O. and afterwards asked to speak with me. He came into my office, closed the door behind him, and sat down with a wild-eyed look. There was no small-talk to be had here…he got right to the point. He led with this question:

“Do you cast out demons?”

I sat in my chair staring at him for a moment, trying to absorb what was taking place. My mind raced with thoughts…and I had to consider which one I would allow to come out of my mouth. “Well…I’ve never been certified in that area…but it’s on my bucket list!“ No…I really didn’t say that, but I told Dude that I am a praying man and I believe that all believer’s possess authority because we’ve been given it by Jesus Christ, in order to walk in His ways and enforce the terms and conditions of His victory.

WEAK! It felt like such a safe but pathetic response to give a guy who was deeply searching for some real answers in his life. So I went further…I told Dude that if he wanted to meet me at church the following Sunday, I would pray for and with him and we’d talk further…but under no circumstances was I about to go “Exorcist” here in the probation office…like I said, never certified in that area.

He agreed to come, and actually showed up that following Sunday…I admit I was surprised he followed through. We talked, we prayed, and that was it. I wasn’t sure I would see him again in this context.

A New Pattern Beginning

I then saw Dude at church the following Sunday…and the next, and the next. He’d wave to me sometimes and sit by himself in the back of the church, then be gone before the end of the service. I’d catch him at times before church began to catch up on how he was doing. In recent months, his faith was strong and his sobriety intact, but he was in need of a job.

Over the past few months I’ve gone through my own reoccurring life pattern which tends to involve me being snarky about church and church-stuff, so I haven’t been at church often. Nothing against my church…it’s my own deal that happens from time-to-time. So anyway, one day a couple weeks ago, Dude comes into the probation office for his appointment. After finishing his appointment with his P.O. he sticks his head in my office briefly and just says, “Where you been? I haven’t seen you lately!” I tell him to go away and he just smiles and walks out.

Here’s Where “DD” and the Miracle Come In

This morning I’m walking into the church for the first time in a while…and I think of Dude as I’m nearing the entrance. My snark-meter is running a bit high and when it does, I can be a bit standoffish. I’m not much for blowing smoke up anyone’s butt, talking about how good God is and all that religious stuff when I’m like this…so it’s best for me to just go find a chair and sit down and hope no one comes over to talk with me…you know, minimize any damage my mouth may cause.

Dude approaches me with a young lady by his side and as I see him, my heart instantly softens. I shake his hand and he introduces me to the young lady. It’s Dude’s daughter (“DD”). I didn’t even know Dude had a daughter!

Dude and Dude’s Daughter sit down next to me and church begins. As the band begins to play the people are singing, and I’m not paying much attention to what’s going on up front. All I can think about is the guy sitting next to me who’s battled with an opiate addiction…almost died a handful of times, and now, he’s sober, attending church, has a job he’s very happy in…and has a daughter who is coming to church with him.

I began to cry. Like I said…it didn’t matter what was going on up front with the band…I wasn’t paying attention…Jesus was in the back section with me and what mattered was that I believed I was possibly witnessing a miracle taking place…restoration between a dad and his daughter.

After church, I asked Dude about the details. He tells me that it is in-fact a miracle because he has been in jail over half of her life, and when he was out, he was so messed up he wasn’t there. Dude’s daughter lives with her mother…but trust is building and Dude is reclaiming a place of significance in his daughter’s life.

Reflecting

As I cried about what I was allowed to see taking place, I had some thoughts. I’m a skeptical and cynical guy, probably more so in the church than anywhere. Many of us have had bad experiences in a church setting at some point in our lives, and for me, I’m just so grateful that with my own, I never blamed God for them. But when the emotional train goes by, I pass on the opportunity of jumping on. Christianity must be about outcomes…not just emotional highs. I’m not the guy who gets hyped up during the music because…well, I’m just not. But you put outcomes in front of me…lives changed like Dude’s…and my fire stirs up quickly.

I haven’t written much in a while…probably because I’m wrestling out in the wilderness…and I’m okay with that, but this experience today absolutely softened my heart and it showed me how powerful the Gospel of my Lord Jesus Christ is. It’s times like this that I am so grateful God is patient, enduring, forgiving, merciful, gracious….on and on I can go, because I’m a guy who needs each of these qualities extended to me…especially now.

However, as I continue to enjoy my stay in the “wilderness” I really did need to write this story because God is awesome!