Kirsten Strawn
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My Homeless Brother
A small man, approximately in his thirties, sat at a table near the grocery store entrance. I passed him on the way into the store saying, "Good morning," in the usual way I greeted the employees who sat at these tables.
This man seemed surprised by my acknowledgement, turning to face me with his gentle Asian eyes and wide smile. I realized he was not an employee, noticing his worn layered clothing and large travel size backpack. I figured he was homeless; an uncommon sight in my neighborhood.
Inside the store, I had a gnawing sense that this man was familiar to me. Could this be the same man I met three months ago, thirty miles from here? Logically, it seemed unlikely.
I turned my focus on choosing the few items I needed. With my purchases in hand I headed outside toward my SUV. As I passed the homeless man I searched his face for features I might recognize. He had similar shaggy dark hair, combed straight over his forehead, just below his ears. His tan complexion highlighted his smooth hairless face. I was uncertain if he was the same man I met before.
I wondered if I should talk to him. I felt uncomfortable, not sure what to say. I walked passed him. A few feet away I stopped. God was tugging on my heart to turn around. I walked toward the man searching for words, I said, “Excuse me Sir, I think we may have met before. Have you ever been to Seaport Village?”
Shaking his head slowly, as if trying to recall a time when we met, he said in his broken English, “I don’t know that place; Seaport Village?” Responding to my disappointed look, in a hopeful voice he said, “I been to Harbor Drive.”
Of course, that was where I had talked to him! I had given this same man a sack lunch on a grassy knoll along the waterfront. To fulfill community service hours my eleven and thirteen year old boys prepared fifty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to give to the homeless. Many homeless were not as eager to engage in conversation as the man put in my path three months later.
I sensed God was up to something, but what could it be? Why would this man be in my community so far from where I saw him originally?
Nick informed me again that he was on a mission from God to write down the words God gave him in a journal. I remembered his journal full of Bible scriptures from when I first met him, now tucked away in his backpack. Proudly he showed me the Bible that a woman, he described as an angel, gave to him on the plane from Seattle.
Read more.
A small man, approximately in his thirties, sat at a table near the grocery store entrance. I passed him on the way into the store saying, "Good morning," in the usual way I greeted the employees who sat at these tables.
This man seemed surprised by my acknowledgement, turning to face me with his gentle Asian eyes and wide smile. I realized he was not an employee, noticing his worn layered clothing and large travel size backpack. I figured he was homeless; an uncommon sight in my neighborhood.
Inside the store, I had a gnawing sense that this man was familiar to me. Could this be the same man I met three months ago, thirty miles from here? Logically, it seemed unlikely.
I turned my focus on choosing the few items I needed. With my purchases in hand I headed outside toward my SUV. As I passed the homeless man I searched his face for features I might recognize. He had similar shaggy dark hair, combed straight over his forehead, just below his ears. His tan complexion highlighted his smooth hairless face. I was uncertain if he was the same man I met before.
I wondered if I should talk to him. I felt uncomfortable, not sure what to say. I walked passed him. A few feet away I stopped. God was tugging on my heart to turn around. I walked toward the man searching for words, I said, “Excuse me Sir, I think we may have met before. Have you ever been to Seaport Village?”
Shaking his head slowly, as if trying to recall a time when we met, he said in his broken English, “I don’t know that place; Seaport Village?” Responding to my disappointed look, in a hopeful voice he said, “I been to Harbor Drive.”
Of course, that was where I had talked to him! I had given this same man a sack lunch on a grassy knoll along the waterfront. To fulfill community service hours my eleven and thirteen year old boys prepared fifty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to give to the homeless. Many homeless were not as eager to engage in conversation as the man put in my path three months later.
I sensed God was up to something, but what could it be? Why would this man be in my community so far from where I saw him originally?
Nick informed me again that he was on a mission from God to write down the words God gave him in a journal. I remembered his journal full of Bible scriptures from when I first met him, now tucked away in his backpack. Proudly he showed me the Bible that a woman, he described as an angel, gave to him on the plane from Seattle.
Read more.
God's Word to Live By:
Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Psalm 82:3
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Proverbs 14:31
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 19:1
Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Proverbs 19:17
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Jeremiah 22:16
He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.
1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Psalm 82:3
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Proverbs 14:31
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 19:1
Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Proverbs 19:17
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Jeremiah 22:16
He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.
1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
