A Heart for the Homeless

This past Saturday we held our homeless ministry. A homeless ministry is something that anyone can do and one that our small group has done several times before this Saturday. It is a ministry that is near and dear to my heart. We met at my home on Saturday morning to assemble compassion packs with basic items: the Gospel of John; cookies or snack cakes, chips, cracker snacks, honey buns, a washcloth/soap, a pair of socks, a piece of fresh fruit, a bottle of water, hard candy, ponchos, and wipes.

We also collect clothing, backpacks, Bibles and other items to give out as needed. We then we caravanned to a corner on Florida Avenue where we know that a number of homeless men and women congregate. They know as soon as we pull in and raise the lid of our trunks that we are there for them. As they come towards us I am always struck by their gracious and thankful manner. I feel so blessed to be able in this small way to attend to a small portion of their physical needs, but even more importantly, show them the love of Christ!

But by the grace of God, we would all be homeless. This life is so short and we'll be in eternity before we know it. I don't know about you, but I want to spend the remainder of my life helping others in Jesus' name.

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40

It's not the boulders in our path....

Do you ever get totally bogged down by life? No, there's no crisis -- family is healthy, you haven't gotten laid off, bills are paid, but there is an underlying current of restlessness, of discontent. I once heard in a sermon given by a local Rabbi that it's not the boulders in our path that slow us down but the pebbles in our shoes. My shoes are full of pebbles (no small feat since I've had to wear flip-flops since my toe nail was removed).

Don't we all experience the aggravation of those little pebbles; office politics, car trouble, an expense we weren't counting on, a recalcitrant teenager, a grumpy neighbor? These pebbles rob us of our serenity, our peace of mind more than a crisis does. Why is it so easy to turn to God for the big stuff but feel that we can handle the pebbles on our own? Do we think that God has better things to do than listen to our whining or are we saving God for that tragedy (like He was some lucky rabbit's foot) that might occur down the road. God wants to give us peace in all things. God gave us an anology of pebbles in our shoes in the Song of Solomon 2:15, just like the little foxes can ruin the vineyard so can those pebbles!

So after a restlesness night I woke this morning determined to shake off this bogged down feeling. This afternoon I am going to walk down to Bayshore, take off my shoes and count out those pebbles one by one and, as I throw them into the bay, I will cast my cares upon Him for I know, with absolute certainty, He cares for me!

7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

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