I met a man named Carl today. He had a dog in his lap who’s name was Buddy. I was in Nashville, America’s soundtrack state, with my friends enjoying the music and walking down main street. That’s when I saw something.
There was a homeless man named Carol on the street with the cutest dog he called Buddy. Sweetest, cutest dog ever. Carol talked about his family. His brother was an uber driver and his sister was a nurse. He was in the army and wore a dog tag around his battered neck. He seen action in Iraq. When reached down to pet the dog and noticed the homeless man named Carol was wearing a leather band with a cross on his wrist. I asked him if he knew Jesus and told him I did too. He knew Jesus for a year and he was curious how long I knew Him. When I asked how we could pray for him, he asked for a better life. I prayed for him right then and there. God put the words in my mouth because I remember rambling off encouraging stuff for him. After I was done praying, I looked at him and tears were in his eyes. He appreciated us spending time with him and a smile came across his battered face. Three things did not occur during the time we spent with him. 1) He never asked for money. 2) He didn’t push us away. 3) He was willing to share
Give a hand UP, not a hand OUT
Time is worth more than anything else you can give to homeless. Listen to their story because they spend hours alone just thinking about their past and worrying about their future. You could be the highlight of their whole week. Don’t miss an opportunity to love on the “unlovable”. Jesus reached out more than we will ever know and is still reaching out through us. Go out and love the world.
