I was in Seattle this evening and I went to see a
movie. It was one of those movies that really makes you think. On the way back I ran into a homeless guy asking for
some change. I stopped and gave him some and then started talking to
him. After a little small talk he went on to tell me his story. He said that the reason that he
moved to seattle was because of the movie Sleepless in Seattle, (hence the title of my blog).I guess he really liked it.
He also
told me that he used to be on the other side of the street. He was once a wealthy
business man that would snub his nose at homeless people. He said he would never even give
them the time of day. But a couple years ago his wife died and he went
off the deep end, and he lost it all. He lost his job, his house, he lost everything.
He said that when he looks into
peoples eyes that won’t help him he’s sees himself. He can see the way that he used to be and the coldness
that he passed on to others and how it makes him sick. I saw a couple tears forming in his eyes and knew that it genuinely hurt to think of how he used to be.
I walked away from
there and just couldn’t figure life out. I guess more than that I couldn’t figure us humans out. What makes us think we are
better than anyone else. What makes us not stop and help people or for that matter not stop and get
to know people. Does that one dollar that we are going to waste on some
more crap that we are going to throw away really matter.
But you know
what? It isn’t about the money. It is about giving people the dignity of
acknowledging them as human beings. I just wish that we could learn to
Love people as Jesus did. I just wish we wouldn’t get so caught up in our own pathetic lives
that we miss some of the most amazing people around us. I hope that we can all take the time to slow down and just love.
