You see me in the biggest and smallest cities of America.
But, you don’t care.
You see me laying on the streets and bushes of Africa.
But, you don’t care.
You see me digging through trash for food, but don’t offer me a sandwich.
You pass me everyday on your way to work, but don’t stop to say hello.
You call me lazy, but you aren’t interested in hearing my story.
You think I am less than.
You think I don’t deserve your attention.
You think I don’t want to work.
But, have you ever tried to get a job without having a permanent address?
I wish you would support me as much as you judge me.
I wish you would stop to say hello.
I wish you didn’t treat me as less than human.
I wish I could tell you my story.
At times I might be drunk.
I might smell.
I might look dirty and unapproachable.
But, I am still a person.
If you stop and talk to me I will be glad to share what I have with you, which is time.
Don’t see me as a person that is begging for your money.
See me as a person that is wanting to be heard.
See me as a person that is wanting to be loved.
See me as a person that deserves your attention.
See me as a person that is not lazy but might need a little help to do life.
Instead of calling me lazy, help me apply for a job.
Instead of calling me dirty, help me find a place to take showers.
Instead of judging me for eating food out of the trash, share your lunch with me.
Instead of calling me drunk, offer me help.
Please don’t judge me.
Instead, support me.
Love me.
Hear me, because you might learn something from my story.
I want to explain my heart behind this blog. Since being on this trip I have traveled to about 10 countries so far. I have been to, Albania, Romania, Greece, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe and currently in Haiti. Something common I have noticed is how homeless people are most of the time ignored. Nobody stops to say hello to them. Honestly, I think people have gotten to a place where they don’t even see the homeless person sitting next to them. Now, I know there are many of you out there that have probably tried to offer help to a homeless person but didn’t get the response you were expecting. You might have offered food to them but were told all they want was your money. I understand how frustrating that must be. But, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be loved. There might be some homeless people out there that will only accept money from you. But, I also believe there are people out there that really need our support. Everybody’s story is different. We can’t judge everyone based on one or two people’s action. I believe love has the power to change any situation. When you sit down and listen to people’s stories, it changes your perspective on so many levels. We don’t have the power to offer every homeless person help. But, we have the power to sit down and listen to someone. We have the power to love. If this blog offends you, I apologize! My intentions aren’t to offend you or make you feel bad but to encourage you and challenge you to not judge people by their appearance or based on one interaction you had with them. Because like I mentioned above, I think love is a powerful thing that can change any situation and any heart. I think to be able to understand someone’s situation and their heart behind it is to put ourselves in their shoes.
I am sure we all want to feel like we belong. I am sure we all want to feel heard and understood.
We all want to feel loved.
The main purpose of this blog is to remind us that truth.
Since I have been on the race the Lord has been teaching me how important it is to hear people’s stories. No matter what status they hold in society. We are all people. Our appearances and the positions we hold shouldn’t be the only thing that define us.
