there he is again. that man on the corner. everyday he stands there begging to wash your windows just to make a few cents. as you pull up closer to him you look down at your radio, pretending to change the station. you would do anything just to avoid eye contact. its easier that way, isn't it? to avoid it, even though he knows that you see him. if you don't make eye contact you don't have to see the pain that hides behind his eyes and that for you is much easier. you know you should role down your window, but its easier not to. to go on with your busy day having no recollection of the stand still moment you had earlier with a complete stranger.
there he is again. sitting next to the gas station. his cloths are covered with dirt and he hasn't showerd in months. he sits and smokes his cigarette with a brown bag next to him. as you walk by he says God bless. nothing more or nothing less and to you this seems odd. it simple holds no meaning because what does this bum know about God. you say, u too but you don't mean it and you walk in and out of the store and continue your busy day.
behind your desk, he walks in. he simply needs health insurance but you deny him. you see his tattoos and piercings and you assume. as he begins to tell you his story you see his rotting teeth and your mind goes to a different place, no longer listening to anything he is telling you. you tell him your sorry you can't help him but your really not. and as he walks away you think negative thoughts because of the assumptions you have made by nearly looking at him.
ASSUME: to take for granted or with out proof.
that is what you do. its easy to just assume that all people are alike. that this man is the way he is because he is choosing it. we all have the right to choice the life we live after all, right? so you don't feel sorry and you don't even really care. You have your problems too, we all do. so you keep to your self and you live a life of assumptions.
the sad thing is, is that this is how most peoples lives are. they assume and don't care to know anything more or anything less. the truth is, is that man you drove passed just lost his wife of 10 years and his 5 children are no longer a part of his life. he has nothing and is so broken inside that he doesn't know how to get out. his family won't help him and does not even care to know why he is the way that he is. every night he sleeps in an abandoned car and cries himself to sleep, wishing someone would just care enough to love him. but no body does. they are all so busy with themselves they have abandoned their own blood. if you were to open his wallet you wouldn't find any money or credit cards, only a simple note with the name of his mother and her number on the front and on the other side the words, I am sorry, I love you. a note to be found just incase he was found dead. but you would never know any of that because for you it was uncomfortable to sit next down next to him and have a conversation. you assumed and went about your busy day. when he said God bless, he really meant it. a graduate of teen challenge, he took his daughter to church when she was a child, giving her the foundation she needed to be different. he knew who God was and knew that because of his father he was still alive today. Isaiah 26:3 was the verse that carried him through his hard times. "You will keep in peace, those whose minds are steadfast; because they trust in you." unlike you he really wants God to bless you, even though he is the one who so badly needs the blessing. the second you layer eyes on him that day in the insurance office, you had decided this man was worthless and didn't deserve insurance. what you didn't know is that that man is dying. He has cancer and no money. I bet you didn't know that this man was clean for 3 years before this, even helped his daughter get through college and his mother as she endured painful surgeries and stayed by her side for months while she was hospitalized. that is why he had no job. he was a great example to those in his 12 step group, and was an even better friend. Giving is to small of a word to describe this mans heart. sacrifice is more like it. a kind and gentle heart this man loved with everything in him. but you wouldn't that, would you? yes like every other human he has his flaws, but unlike most he is aware of them and works on becoming a better person everyday. despite the ridicule and pain he has endured he still chooses to love. but you do not see that. when you look at him you are afraid, you would never hug someone like that. those hugs are some of the greatest hugs I have ever received. despite his brokeness, he loves anyways. hurt by many he still longs for relationship. he's human. he needs to be loved too. he laughs even though he has more to cry about than he does to smile about and he faces everyday with a positive attitude, thanking God for one more day, one more chance to be better. I thank God too.
missing my father as a child, i didn't understand the struggles of the world. addiction is not a choice it is a sickness, it destroys your concept of reality and prevents you from making right decisions. he may have choose the drug but didn't choose to be trapped in a life of sickness. thats okay because through the King this man has been set free. To let go of this past that entangles him and just be free. to love those in his life and to make the best out of each day. I am thankful for my King. for the grace and mercy he pours out upon the lost and broken. a steadfast mind, focused on God, that man has been given peace that passes all understanding. to know who he belongs to is more satisfying than knowing that he will wake up tomorrow.
We have all been given a story. We've lived lives that most people would never know about unless they listened. The power of a story can change more than just a perception, it can change the world. so next time you see that man will listen to his story, or will you assume and just walk on by? My hope and prayer is that you will stop. give people a chance to tell you their story because you never know, it could forever change yours.
