The Face of the Homeless

Hey Church, I am sure that at one time or another you have been somewhere where you encountered someone who was Homeless. Maybe you were driving down a busy big city street or possibly you have volunteered at a homeless shelter. But most of us in small town USA don't have daily contact with those we call Homeless. I am no different, that is until today. Earlier this morning a broken family sat across from me in my office seeking help. A family originally from the Milledgeville area. A family whom I have known ever since I moved here. A family whose rented home was condemned and is now trying to put together funds to live in a motel for a month. After that month they have no plans. A house filled with several generations, with grandma having to care for several of her grand kids because the mom is in prison. These are only a few of the hard facts that they live with daily. They are the face of the Homeless. I sit here consumed by their dilemma. I put together a little help for them, but their need is immense. Not just the physical needs but the emotional and spiritual ones as well. They leave my office and moments later the phone rings with another one time proud Milledgeville resident now hiding out in a Domestic Violence Shelter, looking for help to her heartaches in life. The physical, emotional and spiritual pain she has endured brings back vivid and painful memories of my own childhood where my brothers and I often sought refuge from the violence in our own home. Once again I could offer only a meager amount of financial assistance. I now sit drained of energy and yet I feel as if I have no right to feel this way because of all of the brokenness I have just encountered in these persons lives. The face of homelessness is real and we know there names. Please pray for these families that they will find healing and a home.
I Love you all, Pastor Rick