Matthew 25:40 KJV 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. My heart breaks when I think about the tens of thousands of people who are homeless and hungry here in the United States alone. According to an article I have been reading, as of January of 2016, there are nearly 554,000 homeless people across the United States. Out of that number, around 193,000 of them have no access to any shelter at night, and, instead, they stay in vehicles, tents, and on the street. The only true way of knowing and understanding the hurt and humiliation that comes from being in such a predicament is to experience homelessness yourself.
And I have. The first time I was homeless was when I was just a kid and it was out of my control then. However, I have been in this predicament many more times over the course of my life, and I can tell you from my experience that it is quite the hardship to endure. Being homeless doesn’t mean you are a low – life or a druggie, even though that is a very common factor, but people are finding themselves homeless for a whole host of reasons that involves our poor economy and the high cost of rent in big cities like Seattle and Los Angles. My point though is this, God knows the name of every single homeless person; whether they are living on the street or in their cars, and those in each and every shelter in the United States and all over. These people’s lives matter to him, just as much as any other folks that are lost without him.
My parents decided to separate, for whatever reason, when I was about six years old. We had been living in a house that my stepdad had been working to remodel and had previously belonged to one of his great aunts. I remember this house so very well, because there was a lot of tragedy that happened to me during that time. It was a great place, with a stream that ran along the yard outside the side porch with a lot of shady trees to sit under. However, when my parents split up and my mom moved us to a friend’s house, my stepdad decided to set this house on fire and burn it down prolonging our homelessness. This would be the pattern for the other times I saw homelessness growing up, and my first experiences living in domestic violence shelters. I would not wish for anyone to ever know what it is like to be constantly uprooted and moved so consistently that not doing so becomes the nonstandard. At the age of sixteen, I had moved with my parents more than forty times, and I lived in a shelter of some sort at least five times.
I am truly thankful that God is so faithful and that all things concerning him and his nature are everlasting. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and they never change. Hebrews 13:8 KJV Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Before my relationship with Jesus, there was no consistency in my life. I have moved too many times to count; including long distances, from state to state, such as from Kentucky to Michigan and Michigan to South Carolina. People have come and gone from my life, some of them good and most of them bad. Looking back throughout my life though, I can see the hand of God leading me in directions that, even though bad things happened, they brought me to the place I am today. I will never know or live an inconsistent life again, nor will I ever be without a home to call my own. The people God have chosen to be my family and my husband are here to stay. As well as the everlasting and eternal home that God has promised to me. One thing I am sure of is a promise from God is one that you can depend on and know with a surety that you can count on him to follow through every time.
Words for Encouragements 