Losing Everything

During the winter, I keep a supply of warm hats in my car to give to homeless people.  Just as I parked my car to go into Macy's yesterday, a homeless person walked right in front of me.  I asked if he wanted a hat. He said yes.  His name was Jessie and we talked for a few minutes.  He told me of a homeless man across the street named Cory who told him he had lost his hat.

When I left the parking lot it was getting dark.  I saw a nice looking man holding up a sign in the 30- degree weather.  I wondered what his story could be.  Cory did not look as worn down and beaten by the streets as most of the homeless people I meet.  I pointed to a parking spot and yelled over to him, across the traffic, to meet me there.  As he approached, he looked sad, but wholesome - out of place on the streets.  I told him I heard from Jessie that he had lost his hat.  He smiled, and told me that he had just lost it today. I handed him a knitted cap, and made him laugh when I said it matched his gray and black scarf - like that mattered, but, in a way, maybe it did.  I offered him a meal and a warm place to be for a while.

The nearest place was McDonald's.  He left his "need money for food" sign behind a trashcan as we entered the door.  Once he got his food, he picked out a cozy corner table and told me his heartbreaking story.

Only a year ago he bought a house with his fiancé.  The wedding date was a year out, so they were taking time to get a home and set down some roots.  To help her build up her credit, he agreed to put the house in her name.  He also helped her buy a new car that was also in her name.  One day, he came home from work and all is stuff was on the lawn and the locks on the doors had been changed.  He discovered that his fiancé had a boyfriend on the side and decided to kick Cory out, so her new boyfriend could move in.  I asked him if he thought it was a con from the very beginning.  He said he didn't really know, and that he would like to think that some of it was real.

With no family in the area and having a job to go to - he lived in his car.  When his car broke down, he couldn't get to all the various job sites, so he lost his job.  Now he was sleeping near a utility building at night and panhandling for money during the day.  I asked how I could help.  He said he needed an address that he could put down on job applications.  I told him I would pay for a P.O. Box.  Then, he told me his phone battery was always dead and he needed a way to get messages. I told him I would work on a way for him to have a number and collect his messages.  Bottom line, he needs a home.  I prayed with him for a home and a way out of his homelessness; for God to give him strength to forgive and move on.  I gave him some cash and told him I wish I could do more.  I asked if he had prayed for help today.  He said, "Yes, I just prayed for a generous person to help me when you called out to me."  I said keep praying and believing...that is how it works...prayers start a ripple that reach out and touch others.