4th May 2006

Accidental poet by John Fischer

Down the street from a Starbucks in downtown Denver is a group of kids whose situation would present an apparent contradiction to the words of Rick Warren on the cups of coffee drinks they are bound to hold at some point during this campaign. The irony, I’m sure, will not go unnoticed. Some of them would say “accident” was inadequate to describe their lives. “Train wreck” might come closer.

These are teenagers who have run away from home or in some instances, been kicked out. For the most part, they are not prodigal children running away from loving parents; they are desperate children running away from prodigal parents, and they are going to put the “not an accident” theory to its severest test.

Robbie Goldman works among these kids, and he knows they are no accident even though their lives might look like one right now. Sometimes it takes someone else to believe it for you if you can’t believe it yourself. The salvation of each one of them will come when they realize that in spite of their situation, God wanted them alive and created them for a purpose. That’s the amazing thing about his purposes: They can prevail over any situation.

In his last communiqué, Robbie tells of a personal revelation he had reading the poetry of one of these kids:

“It is hard to imagine the ferocity with which my friend was writing lyrics down in her spiral notebook. She had been writing 10 to 12 of these poems a day. Some must have taken her over an hour.

What was the point? Who would want the horror punk lyrics of a street kid? Although she had a dream of some famous lead singer requesting her material, I wondered what would actually become of this notebook of words.

I sat and read the words carefully, giving my full attention to the admiration of her diligent work. She was amazed and said, ‘You must like them; you are reading each word.’

That is when it hit me. These crazy horror punk lyrics at that moment where meant for me! Most of the words were words I would never use. Most of the ideas I did not agree with. But the time and attention I gave to her work was what I needed to do. I am not a famous lead singer or record producer of horror punk, but I am her friend. That is enough.

The one thing all of us can do is be a friend. Let your heart love today, even if it exposes you to words you would not use and ideas with which you do not agree.”

It’s amazing what you can do for someone who thinks their life is an accident when you treat them as if it were not.