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Today, George Lawson had $60, a bus ticket home to Indiana, some khaki pants, a t-shirt, and a blue mesh bag.  Back near Indianapolis, his wife and 3 kids are waiting on him right now…he’s probably asleep on the bus from Atlanta right about now.

George and I were both at the back of the line of 14 people in Lake City, Florida this afternoon at the Greyhound Station.   Neither George nor I felt compelled to be rude…and both let an older lady go in front of us and chose to go on the bus last,  then we ended up sitting together for the 1 hour trek to Jacksonville on the front seat.

I was finishing the edits on a guest blog for our senior pastor’s blog today, and George introduced himself.  He said, “I just got out of prison.”

I’d just got out of Valdosta, Georgia.  It was my first trip on a Greyhound bus…the most economical way to catch a ride home after a couple of days with some old friends, but they had car troubles.  So Greyhound it was.

Sitting next to George, I couldn’t help but notice he had some impressive tattoos.   That should have tipped me off right?  Or maybe the fact that a law enforcement officer had chaperoned him at the bus stop until he got on the bus….. sometimes I just don’t pay attention too well..

More than huge biceps and massive tatts, George had even more impressive stories…..  How his oldest son, 21 years old… was in college working on being a lawyer.  How his 2 teenage daughters were eagerly awaiting him with his wife.  How he and his wife had been together since senior year of high school in 1989- and had endured almost 2000 days apart, with only 2 live visits in between.   And how he’d found Christ in a dark prison, at the end of his rope- but finally ready to put God first in his life.

I told George I goto jails for a living.  Taking church to people who don’t get to go…he took this moment to shake my hand.   I felt like I had street cred…

We spent the next hour talking on and off….I wanted to give him time to soak in the sights and nature…he hadn’t been outside the prison walls in 31 months.  I asked him questions about life on the inside.   He said he’s had problems being thankful and content earlier in his life…and that led him to stealing.   And it hit him…he thought was stealing for himself, but it all came full circle, and what he really stole and lost forever over 5 years from his own life.

I told George he was blessed.  He’d get to see his son graduate law school.  His daughters get married.   His grandbabies come into the world….and he’d savor every moment.  I told him that if anyone ever had a problem with thankfulness, they just needed to spend 6 months…heck, 6 nights..on lockdown.

George is content to be fully present in the life of his family, friends…and ultimately, his own life.  We have a way of checking out on those we love…even on ourselves.   It took checking out literally for almost 2000 days for George to weight it all out.  He said it came to him laying on his bunk one night.  That God must really love him for his family to stick with him through everything.  It changed this tough guy forever.

So George took the ride home.  And I’m sure of one thing….he’s relishing his moments like never before.   Me, I got off the bus thankful for another God moment.   A chance to meet a total stranger but get real insight into the lives God has ordained for me to intersect.   God is way smart.