Tag: faith

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CONVERSATIONS: BLESSED WITH SHELTER

Brother, listen to me for a second. Got something bothering me.

Remember yesterday when you and your pals from church were sitting on the backyard patio smoking weed? Yeah, I saw you and no, I don’t have a problem with what you were doing. As usual the conversation covered many topics that mature men discuss when together in privacy. Well, almost private. I am there always.

Everything you talked about was pretty cool. The weather, the economy, your wives, your jobs and, and of course, the sexy divorcee who moved in just down the street. All of it chatter I’ve learned to expect from a group of back yard pals.

But then, one of you mentioned Tom from two doors down. He has never been part of your group and you think he’s an odd fellow. An RN at the hospital, Tom is a loner, doesn’t golf with you on Saturdays, doesn’t drive a pickup truck, doesn’t sit with your gang to watch the Super Bowl and claims to be a vegan. And I can understand that in your world a man like Tom is pretty weird. But my understanding stopped there yesterday.

Tom has a homeless friend, a man running a streak of bad luck. He tents in the nearby woods, finds work in the neighborhood doing odd jobs and yard work. Tom helps his friend with food and a listening ear when needed. He offers a warm place to stay when the temperature drops below freezing. I love Tom. He gets me. He walks the talk that y’all hear at church every Sunday when my words from your pastor get an “Amen, brother.”

So, why do you think Tom’s friend is a neighborhood problem? I heard you saying that. Does he threaten you? Does he steal from you? Does he trash your yard? Does he covet your wife? Does he dishonor your God?

Why do you want to wipe out the little camp he has created for himself? Are you offering an alternative? Maybe a hand up to a better situation? Maybe your church could sponsor him. Ever think about that? Food, fresh clothes, a few dollars pocket change can be life-changing for an unhoused man struggling to survive.

I understand your fear. Each of you is just a job loss, a health crisis away from facing the same insecurity that Tom’s friend faces every day.

But as I see it, y’all are judging Tom and his friend. Give it up, bro. That’s my job. Love ya.

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conversations, blessed with food

Hey man, just wanted to talk to you about something that’s been troubling my heart.

Remember yesterday, brother, on your way to the grocery store to buy a few things you needed for dinner? That man standing on the corner holding a sign that said, “Hungry, please help.” Remember what you did, bro?

You rolled down your window. He came to your window with a smile and anticipation. Not at all threatening or demanding. And what did you do? Remember?

You told him to go get a fucking job and gave him the finger.

You didn’t see what he did or hear what he said as you sped on down to your grocery store. He folded his hands over his chest and said, “God bless you, man.”

I saw it and it broke my heart.

Now, what could you have done differently?

Maybe you could have given him that 10 bucks you won in last night’s poker game with the guys. Yeah, a bunch of rowdy, cigar smoking buddies they were, but they’re your friends from the Tuesday night prayer group from the church you attend every Sunday.

Or maybe you could have said, “Jump in, let’s go to Wendy’s and get burgers and fries?” He may have had some interesting stories about his camp in the nearby woods and what he has to do to survive every day.

But you thought he smelled ripe and you didn’t want to stink up your car.

Yeah, I saw it all brother. I was standing next to that man. “Inasmuch as ye have done unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done unto me.” matthew 26

You didn’t know that man was also a veteran like you. Only he did not come back to the States as blessed as you. No, he suffered deep emotional scars that followed him for the rest of his life. Couldn’t keep a marriage together, couldn’t hold down a decent job, couldn’t maintain a home and ultimately found himself living in a tent in the woods. No, he wasn’t camping, he had no options. Considered suicide but faith in the Lord would not let him do that either. Like I said, no viable options.

He served his country but became a throwaway, broken statistic. And, my brother, he was hungry like you were as you drove to the grocery store. His faith kept him shiny side up in the worst of times, times that most could not endure nor want to survive.

And, he was a Christian like you profess to be. Just alot less lucky in things of the world.

“For I was hungry and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison and ye visited me not.” matthew 26

And Gabby says, “Amen, Lord, I hear you.”

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yesterday

Gabby is lounging lazily awaiting the first of numerous football games scheduled for today. It’s Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving Day. Probably too much to eat yesterday and a natural proclivity to take the benefits of retirement to heart attribute to Gabby’s casual approach.

We ate well. Roast turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, stewed sweet potatoes, and choice of 3 pies including apple, pumpkin and mince. Gabby, a product of the Pennsylvania Dutch culture chose the mince pie. But unlike Grandma’s mince meat pies of years ago, this version had no beef nor was it served drenched with a shot of whiskey. We thanked our Lord for the bounty and ate heartily.

How was your meal? Was your dinner table loaded with the wealth we have become accustomed to? Or did your family scale back due to the difficult times we are enduring as a nation? Many folks did not have the resources to celebrate the abundance. Especially those folks who necessarily rely on SNAP, the fed’s government nutritional assistance program, scrambled to provide food for their tables as the Potus and his minions denied funding for SNAP.

Several of Gabby’s and Larry’s friends from years past have been unhoused men who had hit on hard times. They survived in challenging conditions. They were grateful for their Lord’s provision and lived many days by a simple faith driven by determination and brotherly love for one another.

Howard had a part-time job as a dishwasher at a local mom and pop restaurant. He regularly came home with an overflowing bag of food that the restaurant manager had planned to throw in the garbage.

“Nothing wrong with it,” he proclaimed. “It’s good food.”

Indeed, it was good food that Howard saved from the dumpster. We all ate well since the restaurant’s specialty was Italian fare.

Another friend proudly boasted of his dumpster-diving skills. He observed numerous businesses and knew when each disposed of its out-of-date sandwiches and snacks. His favorite was the Wawa store on the corner. They had the best Cuban sandwiches even when they were a day over expiration date.

So, Gabby and Larry can only ponder as they remember those good days with loving friends. Did the Potus, his family and members of Congress who defunded SNAP fine dine yesterday on dumpster specials? If not, they ought to try it for Christmas. I’m too old and creaky to climb into dumpsters for food but I am blessed with friends who can and for that I am sincerely grateful during this season of love and gratitude.