A great day!

At church this morning was a young man that has been Andy's client since he was a teenager. He's an orphan, so the fact that he ended up in trouble isn't surprising. None of his trouble is that "BIG" but he just constantly gets into it. So, Andy sent him to the Christian recovery group that our church hosts. He went, and got invited to church. Brought his girlfriend with him.

Now, we've had lots of clients come to our church - some stay and become part of the body, other's move on. We've had clients who've been part of the church longer than us, who come to Andy for legal help because he goes to that church.

But this one today was special. Andy's had him as a client so long, in some ways, Andy is a parental figure to him. Certainly he's watched him grow up from a teenager to a young adult. It suddenly dawned on me in service today, that for Andy, this was a big deal. After all those years of helping the young man through the justice system, Andy's a bit attached. (This is a kid we have spent some time and resources on out of the goodness of our hearts because nobody else would, and he has needs).

So, what a celebration at church today to see him there. But is was a quiet celebration between us, because we wouldn't go around pointing him out and saying "Oh, that is one of Andy's clients." That would violate confidentiality, and let everybody know that the kid has been in trouble.

Fortunately, we go to a very friendly church, and people who don't have the slightest idea that he's Andy's client were greeting him and his girl, being super friendly to them! I'm so hopeful that they will come back. I kept looking over at them, and they were smiling, so hopefully that is a good indication.

They were at another church, but were feeling quite judged. Let's face it, they have a lot of "issues" to overcome, like all of us do. It's just that their issues are a bit more visible than most people's issues! If they can come and be gracefully discipled towards a life with Jesus, it will be the accomplishment of the true mission of the church!

It is a story like this that makes it so worth taking the low paying public defender cases and putting our entire heart and soul into them. The rewards can be eternal!

God is good!