I have thought a lot about this many a times and in many directions. How when I see a homeless man curled in a ball under the bus stop under his grimy damp blankets, I can't help but wonder, "Where is his mother? His family? Or his childhood BFF?" Where did he come from and how did he get here? I'm sure he did not come into the world under those circumstances but for whatever reason he is there now, estranged from the world. As I have said before, everyone has a story- but I start wondering- what is his? When did things turn or was it a series of small and unfortunate events? Were drugs involved? Perhaps it was peer pressure at a young age... perhaps his mother was on drugs and his father MIA- Was there abuse? Negligence? Perhaps he grew up in 10 different foster homes... Never a real home or a real family. I'm sure at some point there was selfishness, pride, and lack of forgiveness involved from many angles... Perhaps he never learned to trust and he just needed a little more love. Or the need for stability that the Government just can't provide. Perhaps if the other kids wouldn't have judged him and would have invited him to play- perhaps then he would have friends now to look after him. Perhaps he is what so many judge him to be- a lazy and incapable alcoholic... But once again I return to the thought- God did not send him into the world that way. He was once a baby boy in some body's tender loving arms... He was once a child full of laughter and innocence. He was once another kid in class who probably had a crush on the girl sitting next to him. He once had dreams and goals. He once had a purpose. And perhaps he still does. Perhaps he still has a pinch of hope left. And despite the hardships, I am sure he holds a handful of happy memories dear to his heart. Probably a heart with a thick wall around it by now. So how does it happen? Has he been hurt and crossed so many times that he just gave up? Or has he hurt others and crossed them so much that they had to give up on him to protect themselves? It happens, there is a point where a mother or fathers heart breaks but they can't take care of everything anymore. There are probably a lot of broken hearts involved. I am sure that God looks down and weeps, these are his lost sheep that wander and sleep on the streets. Each of them once a child, and still some body's child, God's child.
