Hope Of Redemption

The Arctic Blast sweeping the Nation has dipped into Florida and temperatures are unseasonably cold.

Great. Who cares.

Well it has affected a girl I live with who prefers to sleep outside–in hammocks (saves us on rent). Since the temperature has dipped, her mind has wandered. Who are the other people in this world, Nation and town who also sleep outside, but do not have the option to dart inside if the wind or rain tampers with comfort?

So she got the idea to go out and buy clothes and food and take them to the homeless in Gainesville. She invited me to tag along.

I began talking to a man named Steve. Steve has been homeless for eight years.

But he only has a week left.

His mother died two years ago but he is just now receiving his inheritance. He has been thinking of ways to save money to get to Alabama where she left him a house, car and cash. He said his biggest fear is leaving his community that he has come to love behind. He also fears his new role as a manager of money–his mother’s money. For Steve, this isn’t his second chance. It may be his last.

So in six days, this 64 year old is leaving Gainesville and is boarding a Greyhound for Alabama.

He said he may be homeless, but a “home has never been defined by four walls”.

Talking to Steve was refreshing and paradoxical. Here I am, a college student studying for finals, inspired by a man who sleeps on cement.

I am so thankful for a shift in perspective for me and the hope of redemption for him.

Cheers to you, Steve. Cheers to you.

Thank God for a change in weather, heart and direction.