Touching God Through the Homeless

Yesterday morning I spent time with a group of homeless women and some of the volunteers who work with them at the day center that provides meals, clothing, classes, activities to bring a little joy, light, hope, safety and companionship into their lives.  Some of the women have a book club and are currently reading and discussing my book, 42 States of Grace.  These women ranged in age, education and ability and it was touching to hear the wisdom some were able to share. But they don’t consider themselves wise or gifted in any way. Most have been told far too many times that they have little or no worth or value. 

We tend to put homeless people – along with a lot of other people we come into contact with and judge on surface information – in a tiny box. They are addicts or alcoholics, they have no education, they are mentally ill, or they are just pain lazy or irresponsible. Those are often the descriptors we use when we encounter the homeless.  Some of them are true but not for everyone who is homeless, and even if true, that doesn’t mean they are throw-away people. They deserve our respect and consideration. But you often don't realize that until you spend time with a few people on the margins of our society.

Sometimes people just hit a really bad patch that leads to a downward spiral.  Or it could be the result of one or two bad choices.  Any number of things could throw people off track and out of their homes.

I know from personal experience that if you lose a job, it can be a Herculean task to try to find another, especially in a bad economy like we have now.  The longer you are unemployed, the more rusty your skills become, the more dispirited and even depressed you can become, making it far more difficult to find work.  Keeping positive in the face of continuing rejection is very daunting even for people with plenty of tools and support. Many of these women have little of either.

I know from personal experience that devastating medical bills can happen literally overnight, and if you are uninsured or you reach your insurance limits, your financial health is severely threatened, especially if the medical condition impacts your ability to work. Most of the bankruptcies in this country, I am told, result from uncovered medical expenses.

I know from personal experience that losing a spouse can push you into a mind-frame in which you make poor decisions, either from stress or from not having a partner to mull the decisions over with. I’ve made plenty of really bad financial decisions in the past seven years, and other decisions that I would not have been faced with at all if John were still alive. 

One of the women I spoke with had her college degree and work experience in her professional field, but circumstances on her job made it impossible for her to stay; and she has subsequently spiraled down financially and emotionally to the point of becoming homeless.  I have met women who were studying for a professional career but the stress of studying and working and/or raising a family was so overwhelming they sought “help” in controlled substances or alcohol.

Members of my own middle-class biological family have been faced with the challenges of spouses and/or children addicted to drugs or alcohol. It is a painful and helpless situation.

I think it is only in spending time with people we tend to put in boxes that we are able to see the individuals and the gifts they are. It is in hearing their stories that we are able to understand, have compassion, and be open to the goodness and lovability of all humans. 

One of the often-proclaimed but usually-ignored calls of the Christian faith is to follow Jesus’ lead of being with the poor, the people on the margins. We are called not only to give a couple bucks to the Salvation Army or our used clothing to Good Will and consider we have done our duty, but to actually be present to, in companionship with, those who are hurting. It is in learning on a more intimate level the struggles and challenges of the poor and coming to know them as people that we are able to have true compassion, respect and love for others. It is very often we who are most blessed in this endeavor by letting go of prejudices and becoming more attuned to all of creation and, thus, becoming more in touch with God.

So I give thanks for the opportunity to meet and share with these women. I hope I gave them as much inspiration as they gave me.