Yesterday morning, as I was walking up a slight hill towards work, I noticed a homeless man named Cedric walking down toward my direction from across the way. I hollered to him, and he hollered back. I turned the corner, and as I was walking, I could hear his shopping cart advancing at a quicker pace than my step, so I slowed down, so he’d be able to catch up, and he did.
We walked and talked together. I asked him how long he had been homeless and how it all started. He opened up how he had been a truck driver and lost his job. He just decided, instead of trying to find a new job in that career, he’d rather be on the streets. I asked him how he stayed content and if he had any friends. We just chatted and laughed a lot. Let me share with you a little about our friendship.
It all started one morning when I stopped to find out who he was. He was a little grumpy…standoffish but allowed my interference. When I asked if I could bless him, he said, “No.” Since then, I’ve always greeted him with a smile and sometimes a hug, so yesterday was a bit unusual.
At the end of our chat, he said, “I like your attitude.” I told him, “I’ll be praying that you find lots of stuff today.” He said, “I believe in Him,” and he took off his jacket to show me his tattoos: a set of prayer hands on one forearm with the words “Our Heavenly Father” and on the other was a cross/anchor (the top part was a cross and the bottom was an anchor)). Then, he said, “I talk to Him sometimes.”
At one point during our conversation, he said he gets lonely, that he didn’t have a girlfriend. I told him I was married to God. This was his reply: “So you’re never alone then. That’s nice.” I”m going to teach him how he could experience never being alone as well.
Every day, Love looks a little bit different. I wonder what it will look like today.
Worship Flags and Infinity Scarfs 