Storytellers

I know it’s so cliche but it’s true. I spent some time at a homeless shelter in Dallas a couple of hours ago, listening to speakers talk to the homeless about how God is working in each of their lives. One of the speakers, Austin, gave a testimony about his own experience as a homeless man. It’s terrible how people look down on them just because of their outer appearance, judging them based on the stereotype that they’ve lost all they had because of drugs, alcohol, or some other illegal and reckless activities. Even though this may be true in some cases, it isn’t so in EVERY case. Austin became homeless because of some bad luck… trusting the wrong people just to keep up with reality, trying to make it in the city of angels. Before he moved to LA, he had a good background — got good grades, graduated from SMU, went to church, no run-ins with the police…he was a good kid. At first, he was making it with a job under his friend’s family’s business, but when the business turned out to be a bit shady and the rent for his apartment went up, he was kicked out with nowhere to go but the public park. He was homeless for at least 5 months wandering the streets of California, working wherever he could find a job. After about half a year later, he was able to pick himself back up, and now he dedicates his time to the homeless, giving them words of encouragement along with the word of God. It amazes me how, even with all that he went through, he was able to keep his faith. He followed the rules of God in his everyday life as a homeless man. He knew that it was all happening for a reason and kept calm. Listening to Austin, it made me think…if he could do it with a lot less of what I’ve got now, whattheheckk is stopping me from doing the same? Why is it so hard for me to not worry about the smallest things when this guy managed to remain so faithful with nothing but a trash bag of clothes and a park bench to sleep on? It’s a bit pathetic don’t you think? Some of us “well off” people judge the “poor and needy” when some of them are the ones who deserve our respect. In the eyes of the Lord, there’s no rich or poor, no clean or dirty… so I hope that people would scrutinize less and understand more. Everybody has a story to tell. All we need to do is stop and take time to listen.