The Homeless and Me...

In a small cafe in a city in Florida walked two homeless men on a Monday night. Both had long stories including stints in prison, heart break, addictions, and loneliness. One claimed to be intellectually savvy, while the other claimed to lack schooling. Both men were disabled. One had a phone charging as he sat down, the other one had no phone.

A short devotional was read by one of the 5 volunteers and testimonial time came. The intellectual homeless man spoke of his pasts including being served as a homeless man and actually serving the homeless in the days of his youth. Nobody sets out to be homeless. The other man, appearing slightly more vulnerable, yet speaking less, claimed his heartbreak and additions led him to where he was today. He spoke of God's presence getting him through each day, but then quickly added how much he disliked law enforcement for causing him all the fines and court fees he had racked up and could not pay. His anger and resentment towards his seemingly daily interaction with them appeared to wash away his appreciation for God's daily provisions.

Isaiah 50:11 warns "But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment." I listened to the anger of the man who has spent his life making decisions and following paths that would eventually lead him to where he was today. I looked at my own life, and saw surprisingly, I had made similar decisions. I too chose to live in my own light and warm up by my own fire and have come up empty handed. I may not be homeless, but I could see that his heart and mine beat and ached the same. He was angry and had no idea that what he thought he hated, was exactly what sat across from him.

How many times in life do we complain and rage about the things we are going through in life presently, not realizing that we are literally sitting across the table from the one person who is just sitting there to love us. They are not the cause of our problems, most times our choices are. We don't know it yet, but the pain we are presently experiencing has the potential to make us more useful, more vulnerable, and eventually stronger. Isaiah 49:9 says "I will say to the prisoners, come out in freedom, and to those in darkness, come into the light."

We walk around with so much baggage in darkness. We carry our anger, hopelessness, addictions to the table sometimes missing the beauty of a small child handing us a plate of pizza and cookies. The sound of a can of Pepsi can be heard as it opens. The cola soothing a smoker's throat. Sometimes its nice to just have someone to talk to he said. I agreed and shook his hand. He asked me if I would be back, and I said I would. He limped away and I watched as my own pain walked away with him. We both have a long way to go. I am daily handed all I need by God, yet focus on my own "homelessness" and the never ending "fees" and "fines" that hit my heart on all sides. Instead of focusing on all I have, I focus on what I do not. I too walk away from a small cafe with small dreams compared to some, yet daily footsteps towards the light are so much closer to progress and healing than dwelling alone in the darkness.

God Bless!