Kenny

Years ago I spotted a hitch-hiker while driving east on Interstate 15 near El Cajon, California, and my foot was on the brake before I realized what I was doing. I watched him in the rearview mirror as he ran towards my car. He was quite scruffy and I considered speeding off before he could reach me. But before I could act he was seated next to me, flashing a broad, toothless smile. Kenny was his name, and gratitude poured from him like syrup onto thick waffles. He praised me for my kindness, called me compassionate, thanked God for me, and even complimented my nasty car.

He’d been stuck at an interstate rest area near El Cajon for three days without food, and the California Highway Patrol had threatened to jail him if they found him at the rest area again. He was afraid to go there even to use the restroom. He was sunburned, and told me he’d never been colder than he was the previous night. I offered him a sandwich from my cooler, which he ate in two bites, like a starving animal. I gave him a second sandwich, and it disappeared just as quickly. Then he ate an apple and drank two soft drinks as he told me his story.

Kenny explained that when he was nineteen years old he’d been arrested in Wisconsin for distribution of marijuana. His family immediately disowned him. They wouldn’t answer his phone calls, refused to attend his trial, and not once did they visit him during his ten years in prison (the mandatory trafficking sentence in Wisconsin at the time.) All he could think about while he was in prison was seeing his family again. He wrote to them regularly, but they never wrote back. When Kenny was released from prison he went straight to his father’s house, but his father refused to open the door and wouldn’t even speak to him. Kenny’s father called the police to have him removed from the premises. His siblings rejected him in the same way, which Kenny said was more painful than enduring all ten years in prison. He cried as he told me the story.

After his release from prison and rejection from his family, Kenny found work at a dairy farm near his hometown. He met a young woman and fell in love, and within six months they were married. Kenny’s happiest moment came when his new bride told him that they were going to have a baby. But his happiness didn’t last long. On the same day he learned that he was going to be a father, his wife and unborn child were tragically killed by a drunk driver in a head-on traffic accident. Kenny, unable to cope with the situation, left Wisconsin.

He drove to San Diego to look for work, and his money quickly evaporated. He sold his car in order to survive. He stayed on the Mexican side of the border to conserve his cash as he continued to look for work. Returning to his hotel one evening, he was attacked by several men who beat him mercilessly. He was found naked, nearly dead, and brought to a hospital in Tijuana. He was moved to a hospital in San Diego when it was discovered that he was an American citizen. Months passed before he was healthy enough to be released.

Tears poured as he asked me, “Look at me. I have no teeth, I’m an ex-con, I don’t even smell very good right now. Would you hire me?” I admitted to him that I wouldn’t, and within minutes I dropped him at my exit on Interstate 10 on the east side of Tucson. His parting words remain with me until today: “You said you were coming from your brother’s house. Be forever grateful for that! I would give anything for the privilege of hugging my brothers again.”

I didn’t tell Kenny that he has a Heavenly Father who loves him unconditionally. I wasn’t a believer at the time. Now I think of Kenny each time I hear the story of the prodigal son. How many Kenny’s have you and I met, yet neglected to tell them about their Father’s incredible love?

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” — 1 John 3:1(NLT)

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Barry Phillips is the author of the book “The 24th Province” now available on Amazon.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Pinterest: @barrydphillips