2/25/2020 0 Comments OverlookedOver the past several years, I have been involved with helping the homeless. I have volunteered with a few organizations that have actively tried to help those who have found themselves in very desperate situations. It has been both heartwarming and gut wrenching. Each time I go out to the camps or the overpasses where they congregate, I come away feeling humbled, graced, and blessed; but that's not all. I also feel angered, shocked, and frustrated; not with the people I am helping, but with their situations.
As upset as I might get when I stare into the eyes of the marginalized, the looks they give in return make my moment of righteous indignation seem so small. Most seem to have resigned themselves to their predicament and even have a way of handling the challenges of living on the street with some dignity. But almost all share one common thing. They want to be known. Their lives are spent in hard places and hard circumstances. General society ignores or looks down on them. When they are flying a sign on a street corner, 90% of the people driving by won’t even make eye contact. Imagine living for days, weeks, or even months without a single person looking you in the eye or acknowledging your existence. Often times, they are treated like garage and they feel like garbage. The greatest thing we hand out when we go on outreach is fellowship. For a moment, they can feel like they are valued and loved, like they matter to someone, like they are known; even if it is just for a second. We take the time to hear their story, say a prayer, or just learn their name. Our communication is dictated by what they want to share, not what we want to hear. As desperately as we want them in a better situation, we have to let them make that choice. It’s after they make that choice that the real frustration sets in. Where do you go when no one wants you? It’s a vicious circle of bad decisions and limited choices that fuel their feelings of inadequacy and low worth. No one listens to them so they begin to believe they don’t have a voice. No one looks at them so they feel invisible. No one seems to care so believe they don’t matter. City administrators and non-profits make decisions about what should be done about the homeless problem, but the homeless themselves aren’t consulted because they are the problem, what could they possibly have to offer in the way of solution? They feel frustrated and unheard because they are. In December, I took a job in a warehouse. It’s a blue collar job in an environment that I was completely unfamiliar with. A lot of the people I work with are one step from the homeless I help, and the frustration they feel seems palatable. They are a work force assembled early every morning to help the American dream be delivered to everyone’s porch in a timely manner. Our work is hard, physical, and rushed. The company has us competing for fastest times picking long routes. This competitive nature makes for some rough and rude exchanges at times. The company doesn’t care, willing workers are available at the right price, and the worker is just another cog in the machine, easily replaced, disposable. I’ll admit that some of the people I work with are awesome and embrace the hard work, but others resent it. I believe that resentment comes from the lack of connection to what is going on around us. Good ideas are shot down without consideration because that is just not the way it is done. Frustration over not being heard or seen as more than a strong back with a pulse weighs on some of the young men who just want the opportunity to dream of something better. No one is listening. I was feeling the desperation of the unnoticed when I realized that I shared that frustration. At one point in my life, I felt completely unnoticed and noticeable. It was hard. It’s hard when you try your best and no one sees your effort. It’s hard when people say something and don’t follow through. It’s hard to never be chosen, valued, or listened to. It’s hard when….you get the picture. I was quickly spiraling into one of my funky moods when I broke out the bible and read the truth that everyone needs to hear. The only truth that will help the homeless man who feels overlooked, the warehouse worker who feels undervalued, the housewife who feels unappreciated, and the dad who feels ignored. Everyone has a season where they don’t feel heard, seen, or noticed; but the truth is far from that. God sees, hears, and notices everything! Big or small He knows it all. I don’t need to be frustrated when the world ignores me because God knew me in the womb when He knitted me together. I am fearfully and wonderfully made no matter what the scale says. I am fully known and deeply loved by a wonderful and gracious God. And those truths aren’t just for me, they are for everyone! How glorious it is to walk in the freedom of that knowledge. God values what the world overlooks. He hears the cries and the heartbreak of each human soul. He sees every injustice that we experience and perpetrate, yet He loves us. Walking in that truth makes earthly burdens feel so much lighter. I’m not ignored, I’m not ridiculous, I’m not unnoticed or unloved. I am a child of God with a destiny and calling that many do not see or recognize. As I walk into my calling, I am praying that others will walk into theirs. There aren’t any bench warmers in the kingdom of God, we are all called to suit up and play everyday, don’t let frustration or worldly wisdom get in the way of your divine purpose. For these light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Let’s live for the approval of God, not people and watch the world change for the better.
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AuthorI am a Christian, a wife, a mom, and a part-time basket case who wants to be a full time writer.
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