Homeless

There has been a couple of things in the past week that has made me think about this topic.

Firstly, last Friday we were in town & decided to have a look around Harrods. It was shut, so we just browsed the many window displays which were full of musical stuff as that was the theme at the moment. Each window display (there were about 30-40 of them) had many guitars & other technical gadgets that would be easily worth many thousands if not millions of dollars altogether! It was rather spectacular if not ridiculously over the top! On our trip around the block, we bumped into a homeless guy called Mark. Very nice person, talked to us for a bit & then told us he was selling the poems he had written to try to make a bit of money to get to a shelter for 2 weeks. I applauded his effort to do something & use his talents & we ended up buying 2 of his poems. (One of them I have is here in the photo.) He was very thankful & went on his way, about 5 mins later be banged into another guy whose name was Warren, he seemed quite a bit different, but we struck up a conversation with him nevertheless. One of his comments was that ‘the guy upstairs was looking after him.’ I asked him if he talked to ‘the guy upstairs’ very often & so the conversation went on. I told him that I would pray for him, but he said that many people were already praying for him, so maybe my prayers would be better for someone else. He had an interesting perspective on life, it a simple belief & I think faith in God, but not sure about a personal relationship. These 2 guys reminded me of how much I have (not just money) & what kind of heritage & start I have been given in life. I was challenged that to whom much is given, much will be required.

The second thing that made me think of this topic was the movie we watched on Wednesday. It was called “The pursuit of happiness” and about a guy who was struggling to pay the rent, etc. and make ends meet. At times he found himself & his boy homeless & it gave me the feeling of us wandering the streets of both London & Amsterdam trying to find a place to stay. The thing that struck me about this film, was that his family/community support base was entirely missing. There was no-one he could turn to for a bit of help when he was tight. The storyline is based on random people and lucky circumstances (& unlucky ones too) that helped him grasp the job he longed for.

To wrap these 2 experiences together I am challenged & reminded that when the opportunity presents itself, will I show mercy, help a man in need, give a little grace, maybe some money or something… I never know that maybe that one little thing may be a link in the chain that helps a man out of despair, brings him into belief or shows him that not all mankind is out there to rip you off or take advantage of you. Let’s give a little, lets show a little, lets give people another chance. After all, someone has done it for us!

Homeless