A Hope and Home

There are two words that are separated by one letter in appearance, and yet are connected in meaning. Homeless and hopeless.

Obviously the meanings of these words are apparent...the absence of hope or a home. But I think I’ve come to understand them both on a personal level, which makes them jump out at me all the more when I think about them.

Many times, you walk down the street (especially in the city) and you’ll see someone that’s blatantly homeless. I mean, you can tell it just by looking at them in some cases. But there’s usually this absence of compassion for them because, in all honesty, most people don’t know what that feels like. Well over the past few years, I’ve experienced the uncertainty of life without a home. I’m thankful that I haven’t had to live on the streets physically, but extremely little separates me from it. With no home of my own and uncertainty on a daily basis of the living situation now...I see more when I look into the eyes of people on the streets. I see the blank expressions of those with no cares in the world because they have no worries, which reminds me of where I used to be. And then I see the deeply scarred expressions of those that have nothing and have been treated like they are nothing, which is what I’ve experienced recently.

With the one word, comes the other...when someone is homeless, they are also feeling hopeless. Because there’s no place to go. No place to escape, no rest from the troubles of the world. And then on top of that, people treat you like you don’t deserve to live at all. It’s a very harsh and cruel cycle the homeless go through. I know that some of them are living that way because they have fallen into drugs or other things, but there are also countless others that simply are too poor to own a place to live. Either way, they need the love of God just as much as we do.

I feel more deeply for the homeless than I ever have in my life. I see the blessings of soup kitchens and distributing food and clothes to those in need...not because you feel pity or want to do a good deed for the day, but because of love. I understand the impact of a simple hug to someone that is wounded inside from the daily hurts of people and life.

It’s definitely not been easy but I am thankful that I’m learning something from all of these years in the ‘desert.’ I can at least feel more and see a little more of how God wants us to love those that the world disregards.

"Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?"
James 2:5

How awesome that God sees our hearts and not our wallets. He has a love for us that goes deeper than anything our imaginations can dream up, and He can use whomever He chooses to change the world.

Through all of these hard things, I still have a hope and peace that can only come from Jesus. He is my hope and where I find rest, the One who prepares a place for us...home.

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."
Romans 5:3-5