I HAD A DREAM

Last week I talked about all the things that had happened to me last year.  I woke up in the middle of the night realizing that I had failed to write about my best friend for over 45 years, Sarge and his moving on up to heaven in December.  It was just another blow that the Lord is taking me through.  He is holding me in His hands.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream, not an I HAVE A DREAM, it was a nightmare.  It wasn't a dream to be interpreted so you dream interpreters can settle back down.  This dream was because of what I am doing here at SoxPlace, the people I've met, and research I'm doing on homelessness.  I dreamt that for some reason I had to leave where I am living now and go on the streets. I could only take what I could carry in/on my backpack. I was frantic, what do I take, what do I leave behind to never see again, what/how many clothes, what about money, what about my medications, how will I get access to the money I have in savings, what if someone stole my backpack with family photos and bank card, where will I go?  The fear that rose up in me was almost paralyzing.  I was feeling what so many are feeling now with homelessness.  With homelessness reaching into the ranks of the normally middle class, this is something that regular people are facing.  A new empathy settled into my spirit.
Now let me assure you that I would have places to go.  I not only have friends here in the Denver area, but I have family also.  And above all, I have the assurance of the presence of my Lord who would be with me through it all.  However, the Lord was letting me see something of what some are facing and to have more empathy for the 'less fortunate.'
A few postings ago, I told of the Thumb Sucker who came in.  Last week a young girl, of course at my age everyone is younger, this girl looked to be 13 or 14 but I know she is older. A petite and cute little girl.  She has been in before and was almost hyper as she fast walked everywhere and talked in a loud voice.  This time she seemed calmer, but what struck me was that she had a pacifier in her mouth!  She has no child and was not caring for one.  She simply walked around with it in her mouth and took it out to talk and right back in.  She walked out of SoxPlace and walked down the street sucking on that pacifier.  Again, you wonder what happened in her young life to make her seek comfort in a pacifier?
When I spoke of homelessness striking into the ranks of the middle class I wonder if you saw the FaceBook posting of a woman and her two adolescent daughters who wound up in a Rescue Mission.  She had a good job but wanted to follow her dream of teaching. She quite her job and after her internship at a school she found that there were no jobs available.  More to it but if you are interested you can find that posting on FB, I think.
Use to be that most homeless people were on the streets because of drugs, alcohol or mental illness.  We have a man coming in that had been an attorney, but something put him on the streets.  I don't know his story but he has only recently started speaking to me, not a whole conversation but some passing comments.  That has taken over 3 months.  Back to my train of thought, why people are on the streets.  More and more are on the streets because of a loss of income, sickness that has taken all their savings and friends or family are tired of letting them sleep on their sofa.  Their home has been foreclosed on, eviction from their apartment for non-payment of rent, etc.    How can the church reach out in love?  Recently I came across the verse from Jeremiah 22:16, verse 11 gives the background,  "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.  'Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the Lord."  Interesting question.
Please continue to pray for those precious souls who have no place to go at night, or in the day.  Pray for the outreaches that are attempting to meet the needs of these.  Pray for income during this time of ecomomic downturn, downturn in the world system but not in God's ecomomy, and we need to remember that, God's economy is where we need to be operating.  Pray for the children who are on the streets and have no one to hold them, comfort them, protect them, love them.  These are the "poor and needy" the Lord tells us to defend.
Think on these things.
Ya'll come see us sometime, OK?
With you in His service,
Troy