Homeless: It's Not a Dirty Word
One Sunday at church a young lady sat down in the pew in front of me.
She seemed distressed and in despair.
After the service, I asked her what was wrong,
but she would not answer and just kept crying.
A member of the congregation informed me
that she saw her sleeping in the balcony the previous Sunday.
Immediately I knew that she was probably homeless
and was too ashamed to talk about It.
Eventually I called over some of the ministers in the church,
they got her to talk and then we all laid hands on her and prayed.
The Deacon in our church who was in charge of missions got her some help.
I have lived in NYC all of my life and I've seen my share of homeless people.
Some choose to live that way, either because of mental defect
or out of rebelliousness.
Yet others had no choice.
A fire left them without a place to live.
A spouse abandoned their family
and the remaining spouse could no longer bear
the financial burden alone.
A young girl got pregnant and her parents
kicked her out.
A major hike in the rent
and people can no longer afford the monthly burden.
A death, a long term illness, fixed incomes.
There are so many things that can, could
and may happen to anyone of us
and we could be homeless tomorrow.
But for the grace of God, there goeth thou.
Homeless is not a dirty word
so don't look down on those
who live in parks, alley ways, subways,
bus stations or city-owned shelters.
Homeless is not a dirty word
so don't judge others
until you've walked in their shoes.
Homeless is not a dirty word
there are people in this world
who do not have friends or family to help them.
Homeless is not a dirty word
It's just a reality.
Copyright © Louise Nelson | Year Posted 2007
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