I’m standing on the corner with cardboard sign and ragged clothes
I have a name and a story that no one cares to know
You see me right beside your window and refuse to catch my eye
I can see you shake your head as you let out a little sigh
Afraid to give me money because you know exactly what I’ll do
Spend it on something to take away my pain… “Wouldn’t you?”
The facts in your mind are plain and simple “I’m a forgotten disgrace”
And then you’re frustrated a few hours later when you can’t forget my face
Maybe you offer up a prayer, maybe bring me some bread
Safe until you see me again, now that’s something that you dread
Because the process just starts over, turn your head and look away
Could it be I just want someone to listen to what I have to say?
Hear me out, hear my story, I promise there’s more than meets the eye
Ask me what my name is and where at night I choose to lie
Truly look into my eyes and you’ll see I’m just a boy
I’m not standing here in hopes to simply just annoy
I’m hungry, cold, and need some money to get my high
What, it’s the truth, blocks the feeling for a night
Helps me forget why I’m here and all that happened before
It’s what you do when you realize there’s really nothing more
It’s really pretty easy when no one knows your name
Life is no longer a reality, but merely a game
Who can I manipulate? Who will fall for my scheme?
No, I don’t feel guilty; No, I don’t think I’m being mean
I’m simply surviving from day to day on the street
Hoping that one day my eyes you’ll choose to meet
I have a name and a story that no one cares to know
You see me right beside your window and refuse to catch my eye
I can see you shake your head as you let out a little sigh
Afraid to give me money because you know exactly what I’ll do
Spend it on something to take away my pain… “Wouldn’t you?”
The facts in your mind are plain and simple “I’m a forgotten disgrace”
And then you’re frustrated a few hours later when you can’t forget my face
Maybe you offer up a prayer, maybe bring me some bread
Safe until you see me again, now that’s something that you dread
Because the process just starts over, turn your head and look away
Could it be I just want someone to listen to what I have to say?
Hear me out, hear my story, I promise there’s more than meets the eye
Ask me what my name is and where at night I choose to lie
Truly look into my eyes and you’ll see I’m just a boy
I’m not standing here in hopes to simply just annoy
I’m hungry, cold, and need some money to get my high
What, it’s the truth, blocks the feeling for a night
Helps me forget why I’m here and all that happened before
It’s what you do when you realize there’s really nothing more
It’s really pretty easy when no one knows your name
Life is no longer a reality, but merely a game
Who can I manipulate? Who will fall for my scheme?
No, I don’t feel guilty; No, I don’t think I’m being mean
I’m simply surviving from day to day on the street
Hoping that one day my eyes you’ll choose to meet
The past two weeks we have been working alongside Melville Junction church to begin developing relationships with the “street boys” and establish the starts of a long term program that this church will follow through with. 
We’ve been going out each afternoon taking a meal with us and just sitting, listening, and building relationships with the boys. Most of the boys are between the ages of fifteen and their mid-twenties and have been living on the streets anywhere from a few months to six plus years. Many of our conversations take place as the residue of super glue remains just beneath their nose or the stench of marijuana is so strong you think you could possibly get high also, but this hasn’t been a discouragement this has been REAL. 
We’ve been going out each afternoon taking a meal with us and just sitting, listening, and building relationships with the boys. Most of the boys are between the ages of fifteen and their mid-twenties and have been living on the streets anywhere from a few months to six plus years. Many of our conversations take place as the residue of super glue remains just beneath their nose or the stench of marijuana is so strong you think you could possibly get high also, but this hasn’t been a discouragement this has been REAL. The relationship we are forming with these boys is not one to judge, correct, or reprove but one of LOVE… real, hard, true Love. Just because I say it hasn’t been a discouragement doesn’t at all mean it hasn’t been a challenge, but the facts remain true we are there to show LOVE, and mostly through listening. We know most all of their names, we know most of their stories, and we truly enjoy spending time with them. However, it’s been a very convicting two weeks for me as well. How many people have I passed living on the streets without ever thinking twice? How many people have I prayed don’t knock on my window at an intersection? How many people have I judged or felt sorry for, but done nothing? TOO MANY!
As I was reading the book of Isaiah I stumbled across this beautiful verse, “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing (Isaiah 40:26).” We have been blessed to see some BEAUTIFUL star-filled skies especially while in Africa, and Isaiah states that my Father knows each and every star by name…incredible! However the reality is that if He knows every star by name and not one of them is missing, how much more love, attention, and care is there for the people He created. Stars are beautiful, but only humans were created IN the image of God himself, displaying how much the Father loves people…including people that live on the streets.
To be known by name is a wonderfully powerful act of Love that the Father bestows onto each of us willing to receive it; and if we are to be His children desiring daily to be more and more like him, may we challenge ourselves to display this wonderfully powerful act of love unto “others”… including the least of these.
