IT'S A LONG WALK FROM THE STREET - A journey with a guy called "Joe" - part 18

Finally that Sunday came when Joe walked up to me after church with a big smile on his face. He said, “Mike, I got good news. We finally got it.” He pulled out an envelope and showed me a document stating that he was qualified for Disability Assistance and Medicaid. He was so happy! So was I.

Working with Joe has shown me how insignificant our society can make homeless persons feel. We can treat them like numbers, like statistics, like a disease to society, like they aren’t a part of the same race. We can treat them like they aren’t significant. But these are people with amazing stories and a wealth of knowledge. Joe, for instance, has a great memory for dates. He’s like a walking calendar. His stories are rich with detail and history. No, he’s not insignificant.

God worked a beautiful work in Joe’s life. He has been coming to church faithfully every Sunday and has received Jesus as Savior. God saved him. He doesn’t even look like the same person.

It was always so cool to see him walk with that slow hobble into the sanctuary with his bible in his hand for the 9:30AM service. We would make our way to each other after service for our quick greeting. He’d tell me his story from that week. We’d talk about the squabbling between him and his stepmother. I’d help him see that her protective ways were efforts to express her love for him.

Then one Sunday I noticed that I hadn’t seen Joe all day.