We have returned from our dream honeymoon from Hawaii and while there,
I was able to do and experience so many new, exciting, and wonderful
things! I got to kayak in the Pacific
ocean with sea turtles, snorkel on an amazing reef, try lobster for the first
time, and make so many great memories! I
was able to see sights that couldn’t have been painted by any other than the
hand of God himself!
While we were there, I
also witnessed something that I had never seen before…homelessness. Sure, I’ve see the ones standing on the
corner around our small town holding a sign, but I’ve never seen homelessness
in this magnitude; and it was completely overwhelming.
John and I took a walk one
day that led us through a park. While
admiring how beautiful it was, I noticed a shopping cart filled with
belongings. Walking further, I began to
see people, old and young, who were sleeping on the sidewalk in the hot
sun. I saw small huts made out of their
possessions. I saw people trying to find
shade anywhere they could.
Later in the week, we had
the opportunity to go on a dinner cruise and on the way back, we passed that
same park. As we passed, I saw more
huts, more tents, more people sleeping on the hard sidewalks. I
began to feel ashamed of myself for taking so many of my blessings for
granted. I’m not entitled to one thing
I’ve been given and in that moment I was reminded that everything I have could
be gone in a matter of mere minutes.
I wanted to stop the bus
and do something to help the people in the park. My heart hurt so badly for them. I wondered if anyone knew their names? I wondered why they were there? Did they have a family somewhere? What put them in that position? Did any of them have someone who loved them
and wanted them to come home? The Lord
reminded me that they do have someone who knows their name. Someone who knew exactly what decision or
circumstance put them there. Someone who
loves them. Someone who gave His life
for them. Someone who was waiting with
open arms for them to come home if they accepted Him.
What a hope! Even in our darkest circumstances, even when
we are wandering around, seemingly lost without a place to belong, that our
path is still being guided. None of us
have to wander around lost through life…we have a home just waiting to be found
at His feet. I have prayed for those
individuals ever since: Prayed that they
would find rest and peace in Him, if they haven’t already.
“They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they
found no city to dwell in. Hungry
and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."
Psalm
107:4-9 KJV
