The Prostitute and the Farm Boy

Many years ago, there was a farm boy that ventured to the city.  He came from a family that filled his life with love and laughter.  He always felt safe.  He knew they would always be there for him.

He had no money.  He had nothing but the clothes on his back and a small sack of food he'd packed, but he wanted to do this on his own.

The boy decided to spend his nights on the street until he could find work.  He found a warm spot near the center of the city, and the heart of the night life.  He saw things that he'd never seen before. He saw the worst in people.  Greed, violence, prostitution and deceit that piled up on itself.

The boy was disgusted by these things at first.  He wondered how people could ever treat others or themselves in such a horrible way, but then, he saw something that changed everything.

He was hiding out in his handmade home watching as he usually did at night.  He saw a woman loudly calling out to a man to invite her back to his room.   When the man yelled back a profane insult while laughing, the boy turned back to the woman.
Her face dropped.  It seemed she just couldn't take anymore insults. She slid down the concrete wall in the dimly lit alley until she was sitting on the damp street.  As though a floodgate opened, there she was...sobbing, wailing, with her face buried in her hands.  She started shivering and tried to pull down her snug dress that wouldn't give past mid thigh.  As she continued to try to pull down her dress, she became angry hitting her thighs screaming out into the brisk evening, "I hate you!  Why?"  She continued to scream between her agonizing cries.

The farm boy was mesmerized.  He felt his heart begin to break for her.  He continued to watch as she seemed to tire from a pain like he'd never seen.

The woman stood up.  She pulled her dress down.  Pushed her breasts up higher, straightened her hair and wiped her eyes.  She took a few slow, deep breaths and as though becoming someone else, she stood up straight lifting her head high into the air.

A minute or two passed while the farm boy peered around a dumpster still watching.  Then, a man exited a nearby bar, clearly drunk.  The woman set her gaze on him and started jogging in her high heels to catch up to him.  She was all smiles while she grabbed his bicep complimenting his physique.

As they walked off in to the misty evening, the farm boy realized he'd never be the same.
He'd never look at a prostitute the same way again.
He'd never judge the person based on the sin.
He knew now.  He knew just a little bit about that woman.
He knew a little bit more about mankind.
He knew a little bit more about himself.
And he was ashamed.

He had judged so harshly before.  He did not love first.  He was unlovable, just as he had judged the prostitute to be unlovable.  Yet, Jesus loves us anyway.
He asked God to forgive him, and he thanked God for showing him the reality of human depravity.

The farm boy found work within a week and got an apartment in the city.

He went back to his street home a few weeks later to find the prostitute at her regular corner.  When he asked her to go get a cup of coffee instead of have sex, she started laughing.  After convincing her he'd pay her anyway, she agreed.

The farm boy explained over coffee how he'd seen her a few weeks ago crying in the alley.  The woman immediately became defensive and suspicious.  The meeting ended with the farm boy giving her information for a shelter and his coffee card.  Though hesitant to accept, she did...making sure he knew this didn't mean she was leaving her lifestyle.

Years went by.
The boy turned into a man.   He married and had two girls.

One afternoon, he passed by the coffee shop where he had met with the prostitute so many years before.  He passed by it often and would pray for her each time.  This time, he glanced inside, looked away and immediately flung his head back to the window.

In line staring up at the board holding her coffee card-was the prostitute.

He casually walked in, but inside there was a whirlwind of emotions swirling around like a tornado out of control.  He was nervous, excited, curious, and hesitant.  He waited for her to get her coffee and stood a few feet away looking at her, hoping she would see him and instantly remember.

She glanced up, but walked away.

His heart sank, but before he could decide whether he wanted to chase after her or let her go, she turned around walking determinedly towards him with her gaze fixed.

"Do I know you?"  she asked with a concentrated furrow.

"Yes!"  he said with a grin on his face almost laughing.  "I bought you coffee here a long time ago."

Her mouth dropped.  Tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's you"  she said as though seeing someone raised from the dead.  "It's you!"

They instantly hugged laughing and crying all at the same time.

They two sat at the coffee shop catching up for an hour or so.  The woman told him how she decided to go to that shelter after all.  She was able to get on her feet, get some counseling and get off the street.  It turns out she was pretty good at public relations.  She went back to school, married and had a son.

The two promised to keep in touch and set a time for their families to meet.  But before they left, the farm boy said, "You know, I never did get your name."

"It's Hope" she said.
"Even when I didn't believe it, it was always Hope."