Before You Kick the Homeless —
Bad decisions aren’t limited to the homeless. It could be me or you.
I know for sure that I could be homeless!
I have made a record number of bad decisions in my life.
Yes, I have a job-but I have not always appreciated my job like I should. In fact, I still don’t.
Sure, I have a home that I work to pay for, but so does my husband. Could I do it by myself? Maybe. Maybe not.
There have been times in my life when I didn’t know where my next meal was coming from.
God provided for me. There were times when I was afraid that I could not provide for my kids and I made disastrous decisions because of it.
In fact, I have gotten married out of fear before. Fear that I couldn’t take care of my babies. Fear that I couldn’t provide. Fear that I wasn’t enough.
I have gone through things that could have left me crazy in a ditch somewhere.
Many of the homeless have mental illnesses.
I could certainly be among that number, but for the grace of God.
There are all kinds of reasons driving a person to live on the streets. Or in a car. Or in a cardboard box, under an overpass. I was making a U-turn under an interstate and saw an actual twin bed set up for sleeping right by the road. I was in too much amazement to think to grab my camera and document the sad reality.
What do you think separates you from the homeless on the streets?
I can answer that. It’s grace. There are homeless people who are college educated, well-spoken, veterans who served our country with valor, families with children, runaways-all kinds of people who have gone through all kinds of things.
It’s easy to throw judgement from the other side of the street.
It’s easy for us to decide what they “should” be doing, or what is best for them.
How about we just forget about our attitudes and opinions and remember that we are talking about people. Children, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews,friends, grandfathers, grandmothers, grandchildren…..and God made them just like He made me and you.
That’s all. Kick that around instead.
Originally published at https://moodyoops.com on December 8, 2018.
