He sits in a wheelchair with a cardboard sign in his hand, and I see someone a few cars ahead of me hand him a red baseball cap.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Eddie. I probably don’t remember the very first time I saw him, he has been around this part of town for a while.
But the first time I really saw him, with my eyes wide open, was at church on Mother’s Day. He and his friend were sitting on the front row, awaiting the beginning of worship.
I saw them, and I wondered what it is like to be homeless on Mother’s Day. I suppose living without a home or a mom is similar in a lot of spiritual ways. Moms and homes are connected in the deep places of our souls and our memories.
Where does a person who needs that kind of comfort go on Mother’s Day?
Well, Eddie came to church, and there is great hope for him in that.
In Matthew 5 Jesus said,
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Tonight our family is going out with CHI Street, our church’s ministry to the homeless of Austin. We will drive from stop to stop, handing out food and supplies, hear others’ stories and tell some of our own.
I sit in my car, looking at Eddie, praying that he will be filled. And I pray the same thing for myself, because when I remember him on the front row on Mother’s Day, I think maybe I have not been hungry enough lately.
And there is great hope for me in that….
