Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Compelled to blog . . .
I haven't blogged in over a year. The last 24 hours of my life has compelled me to blog. What has that 24 hours looked like? Last night, I had dinner with the son of one of my best friends. I enjoyed the food and the conversation. The restaurant is a very popular one here in Houston, not outrageously expensive but on average you're going to spend $25.00 to $30.00 for dinner at that restaurant. The restaurant is along a stretch of road, like lot's of streets and roads in Houston, that have a string of comparable restaurants serving different kinds of food (mexican, italian, seafood, et al). All of the restaurants are pretty big places and they were all packed last night, a Thursday night. I'm sure on the weekend you would have to wait 30 minutes to an hour for a table at any of those restaurants. There were a group of people at the table next to us who had a beautiful little girl with them. The little girl was 3 or 4 years old and was having a wonderful time. She was enjoying her dinner and receiving lot's of attention from the adults at the table, smiling, laughing and talking up a storm. Watching her made me think of my precious granddaughter Princess Rylee and the joyful anticipation of the arrival of her sister, Princess Reese. They have been and will be borne into a very nice life. It made me smile. . .
This morning, I'm at my office in downtown Houston. Across the street from my office is an outreach center www.chomhouston.org . On the days that the Beacon is serving the community, the line of homeless people stretches around the block. Seeing that line always makes my heart ache for those people. This morning, not only is my heart aching, my eyes are crying. Why? Sitting across the street waiting for a number to get into the Beacon for a shower and a hot meal is a mother and her beautiful 3 or 4 year old daughter. The little girl is sitting very still, totally lacking the playfulness and joy that the little girl from last night possessed so completely. The difference in the life of the little girl last night and the one this morning . . . unsettling. It made my cry. . .
I don't know their story, I don't know why the mother and child are homeless. All I know is that something is wrong when a 3 or 4 year old little girl has to stand in line IN THIS COUNTRY for a hot meal! We are so very blessed in this country, the abundance we have is almost offensive. Over the last couple of years, I have had conversations with lot's of the people from across the street who are homeless. They are not people who are choosing the "living on the streets" lifestyle. Life has dealt them a blow that they haven't been able to recover from, which puts them in a situation of living at the level of survival. When you wake up in the morning, after sleeping on the street, the day becomes consumed with thoughts of where you're going to get food or how you are going to take care of your personal hygiene. No time to think about improving your life, ya gotta get through the day, only to live the same day again tomorrow.
I can't even imagine what it would be like to be a mother and be on the streets with a child. But more than that, I can't imagine what it would be like to be a child living on the streets.
I don't know all the reasons WHY and I don't have the answers for HOW. All I know is something is very wrong in this country when our children are standing in line just to receive a hot meal. I can't feed all the children but I can do my small part. So today, I'm making a commitment to the children of my city. From this day forward, any time I go out to dinner, whatever I spend, I'll donate a like amount to the Beacon Mission to feed those children in line across the street and maybe just maybe eventually the line will get shorter and shorter and eventually cease to exist at all!
God Bless The Children!
This morning, I'm at my office in downtown Houston. Across the street from my office is an outreach center www.chomhouston.org . On the days that the Beacon is serving the community, the line of homeless people stretches around the block. Seeing that line always makes my heart ache for those people. This morning, not only is my heart aching, my eyes are crying. Why? Sitting across the street waiting for a number to get into the Beacon for a shower and a hot meal is a mother and her beautiful 3 or 4 year old daughter. The little girl is sitting very still, totally lacking the playfulness and joy that the little girl from last night possessed so completely. The difference in the life of the little girl last night and the one this morning . . . unsettling. It made my cry. . .
I don't know their story, I don't know why the mother and child are homeless. All I know is that something is wrong when a 3 or 4 year old little girl has to stand in line IN THIS COUNTRY for a hot meal! We are so very blessed in this country, the abundance we have is almost offensive. Over the last couple of years, I have had conversations with lot's of the people from across the street who are homeless. They are not people who are choosing the "living on the streets" lifestyle. Life has dealt them a blow that they haven't been able to recover from, which puts them in a situation of living at the level of survival. When you wake up in the morning, after sleeping on the street, the day becomes consumed with thoughts of where you're going to get food or how you are going to take care of your personal hygiene. No time to think about improving your life, ya gotta get through the day, only to live the same day again tomorrow.
I can't even imagine what it would be like to be a mother and be on the streets with a child. But more than that, I can't imagine what it would be like to be a child living on the streets.
I don't know all the reasons WHY and I don't have the answers for HOW. All I know is something is very wrong in this country when our children are standing in line just to receive a hot meal. I can't feed all the children but I can do my small part. So today, I'm making a commitment to the children of my city. From this day forward, any time I go out to dinner, whatever I spend, I'll donate a like amount to the Beacon Mission to feed those children in line across the street and maybe just maybe eventually the line will get shorter and shorter and eventually cease to exist at all!
God Bless The Children!
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