I came across this Facebook memory almost a week ago. It’s from August 13, 2017. It felt particularly poignant today, maybe because it’s raining and gloomy. Maybe because the homeless problem here in Anchorage has worsened so much in the past few years and the signs of the addiction and mental health issues that plague our community (and so many others) seems so prevalent. Or maybe because it sometimes feels like grace is in short supply…
It’s hard to know, sometimes.
It’s not very often that I head to the laundromat- usually only when large items won’t fit in my washer and dryer. It’s a good time to think and reflect and I tend to have random encounters with people… I just got done talking with a drunk man that wandered into the laundromat to use the ATM.
He felt the need to share with me that he just got back from commercial fishing and made $97,000. I told him not to tell people about the amount of money he made. That Anchorage is not a safe place these days. I then went on to tell him that this is not the life that he was designed to live. He replied, “I made almost $100,000 in two months, commercial fishing.”
I said, “What’s the point of earning all that money if you drink it all away?”
He replied, “I didn’t drink for four months –You can’t drink on the boat!”
I stayed calm and compassionate and said, “But look at you now – you’re drunk and still drinking. You’re better than this.”
He looked at me for a long time and said “You make a lot of sense.”
I told him that I have been told not to try to reason with someone who has been drinking, “so I’m just going to tell you to please take care of yourself and make good choices.”
He nodded somberly, said “God bless you” and left the laundromat.
I think I needed the grace and blessing as much as he did. We all do.
