Last week Ryan and I watched two movies about homelessness without meaning to. At the beginning of the week, we watched “The Soloist,” a Netflix movie we had lying around for a while because neither one of us could remember what it was about. Jamie Foxx plays a homeless musician with a mental disorder and Robert Downey Jr. is a journalist who befriends him. After we returned that movie, Netflix sent us “The Pursuit of Happyness,” which also has a main character that struggles with homelessness. After watching “The Pursuit of Happyness,” we had a conversation about how ironic it was that the two movies we saw that week were about homelessness.
Then on Sunday morning while we were in church, four homeless men walked in. We scooted down to make room for them. I talked to the man who was sitting in the chair next to me, and he told me that he had been pushed in a fire and robbed. He showed me the horrible blisters on his hand from the fire. He told me that he went to the Nashville Rescue Mission, but someone took his stuff, so they were sleeping under a bridge instead. He said that they were going to try to make their way to Denver. The four of them were really sweet to one another. It was really humbling to sit beside them and see and hear them praising God when they have so much less than I do. Funny that I often struggle so much with my faith when I have been given so much.
I didn’t have much to offer besides conversation, but I left feeling compelled to do something for a homeless ministry. I had no clue where to start, but it just felt like all the signs were pointing in that direction.
This morning on the way to work, I got another sign. Literally. A sign for the Hike for the Homeless to benefit Safe Haven Family Shelter was posted at Edwin Warner Park. I immediately knew that I had to participate. So this Saturday, Ryan and I will be hiking for the homeless. And we would love for you to join us!
You can sign up for our team (the Trailblazers) or donate here.
Here is the information from Safe Haven’s website:
Safe Haven Family Shelter is gearing up for our 6th annual, Hike for the Homeless event, an annual favorite for its heavy dose of outdoor time, friends, family, food and fun. The event includes hiking on two paved hiking trails, which vary in length two to three miles, a complimentary breakfast and lunch, face painting, inflatables for the kids, live music, goody bags and more. The hike will take place at Edwin Warner Park, picnic shelters 9 and 11, on Saturday, October 16th. Registration begins at 9 a.m., with hikers hitting the trail at 10 a.m.
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