Meeting Hercules at Lunch

February 28, 2011 by Jim Smith, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship I sat down for lunch after collecting my ham and cheese sandwich accompanied by a cup of vegetable soup. It was simple food served in a simple room. It was lunch time at the Union Mission of Roanoke Rapids, NC. I noticed that several of the people standing in the serving line appeared “worn and weathered.” They were receiving a much needed meal and were friendly to me and other strangers to this mix. A young man sat next to me and introduced himself. He was young, only 21, and had been at the mission for one year. He eagerly shared his story with a good vocabulary and impressed me with his positive spirit. He had plenty of reasons to be positive. He came to the mission with severe injuries stemming from a traffic accident. He had been guilty of DUI. The accident had inflicted injury, but the recovery at the center had helped him regain his health, give up drugs and guided him in finding faith. The young man had plans to enroll in the local community college in the autumn of 2011. Another man, in his 50s, sat at the same round table. He prompted the young man at times to share yet another aspect of his story. The older gentleman was in charge of the mission. He also works in cooperation with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He and his wife are passionate about helping the poor and disadvantaged. As I listened and was inspired by the transformation which happened with the young man’s life, I thought the older gentleman should be called Hercules. It’s not often you get to see the fruit of someone’s efforts so plainly. I left the place with more than soup in my belly. I left with more hope than I’d had prior to coming in.