Let Me Tell Y’all A Story is a weekly column that’s not focused on sports. It’s brought to you by our partners at Chuck Owens, Alfa Insurance.

If, when I come back this way from Home Depot, the guy who holds up the signs offering hugs and prayer is still there, I’m going to stop and talk with him.

That’s what I told myself on Saturday, when I spotted Michael Colyer standing beside Brookway Boulevard in an empty parking lot where a gas station once stood.

I’d seen Michael before, as he started showing up on busy Saturday mornings when Brookhavenites are running to and fro up and down the boulevard.

At that time, he’d be standing at the intersection with Highway 51. At the suggestion of local law enforcement, he’d moved to a different spot.

And he understands that, you see, he’s not just holding up signs that say “Jesus Loves You” or “Need a hug, I got you bro.” He’s also got other ground-signs spread around the intersection where he’s pacing. Some of them tell folks that if they need prayer or anything else, spiritual or earthly, to stop in and talk.

Where he was located when we met was a much easier place to get face-to-face time compared to the busiest red light in town.

Sure enough, he was still there when I came back through, so I stopped in and told him, hey man, I don’t need a hug or prayer, but I want to find out what you’re all about.

For the next seven minutes, he squatted down beside my car door, and we got to know each other.

I’m not going to lie, I’m my father’s son, quick to cry.

And when I asked him, where did you meet Jesus Christ, I could feel tears building up in my eyes at his answer.

At the end of a gun barrel, he replied.

He’d lived 38 of his first 46 years on life without knowing who Christ is.

Even before he found the Lord, he was someone who enjoyed the feeling that one gets from helping others.

“I always liked helping”, he said, “but now I try and do it within His will and for His purpose.”

You see, the Jesus Sign Dude isn’t just standing out here to condemn you. He’s not going to yell at you as you go watch a movie with your family.

He wants to hear why you need prayer, to find out if it’s something physical or spiritual that ails you.

No matter which category it falls in, he’s got other folks that want to help.

It’s part of his ministry, Daily Bread of Brookhaven.

It’s a way for those Christians that want to help others, but don’t know where to go on the mission field, to get connected with folks that need help.  

He finds those in need by standing beside the road, holding up signs that feature positive affirmation while declaring Jesus is Lord.

Sometimes it might just be a hug or a prayer. Other times it might be cleaning up a property or helping patch a roof.

It’s always turning back to Jesus though, the living water that quenches our deepest thirst.

If you want to see more people helped, you’ve got to be willing to put in the work, is the easiest way for Michael to describe what drives him. He says he prayed to God for direction, and this is where he felt led.

It’s worked so far. There are people coming to meet with him and ask for prayers every time he parks his truck and pulls out his sign.

He and I talk about the desperation we see in the world today. The rise in homelessness in our area and how the 24-hour news cycle and social media feel like they’ve got us all locked in all the time to the absolute worst our world has to offer.

That’s why I try to write about something positive every Tuesday, I tell him. I’m going to write about you next.

“Don’t make it about me though,” he says, “make sure you make it about the Lord.”

Anybody ever roll their window down at you and holler, I ask.

“Oh yeah”, is his reply. “I’ve had folks throw stuff at me and cuss at me, but I don’t mind.”

He gives grace to those fools, because he was that kind of fool himself once. Says he’d have probably yelled at himself too.

I agree, thinking about all the times I rode down that same road we sat beside, holding my head out the window and screaming at my friends that we passed in a parking lot.

That’s when I asked Michael where he’d met Christ.

His candor and honesty were real.

“He had always been with me,” he said. “I fought against him so long, choosing not to believe. I would make deals and say God, if this thing and this thing happen, then I’ll believe. I ran out of schemes and cried out, Lord save me now.”

Just the name Jesus, the power that lies within it, that’s a testimony that Michael lives to spread.

“I just think about how terrible a person I’d be if I didn’t try and tell everyone about what God has done for me, and what he can do for you,” he said. “I was lost for a long time though, I get it, so I’m always going to meet people where they are. I’m living proof that people can run and run and I’m not trying to chase them away, I want to allow the Cross to draw them in.”

I’m not making it about you Michael, but that’s the Jesus I know too, brother.

You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart.

Before I leave, I share a recent prayer need of mine with Michael. He replies, “I’ll pray about that,” and I believe him.

I’ve got to go, I tell him. I’ve got light-up skeleton that I need to put on my roof. I’m going to write about this, if that’s ok with you. This has lifted me, and I want it to lift others.

“It’s all for His glory,” says Michael, and I believe him again.

Look for him around, if you want to help or if you need help — he’s ready to help.