Rick

About a week ago, I met a man named Rick. Rick was from the midwest and was travelling out here in the western United States for a while with his wife. Rick was a kind man in his late fifties, pretty articulate, and friendly with nearly everyone that walked by during our conversation. He had attended Purdue University many years ago, then got a job, bought some property, and built a house. Then everything changed. Rick's house burned down recently. Since he had no insurance to cover the fire, the loss was complete - all his belongings, his home, even many important documents and records. Rick had not been working due to health problems he was having, so he had no income to deal with the tragic loss of his home. Though college educated, a landowner and homeowner, Rick suddenly found himself...homeless.
It is easy to drive by a homeless person and make a lot of assumptions about their situation. By taking the time to stop and talk with Rick, I found that many of the things I might have assumed and guessed, were dead wrong. Finding himself in a position where he had lost everything, he and his wife decided to travel and see the country - thus adjusting to a transient, homeless lifestyle. Upon coming to Redding, Rick's wife decided to try and see one of her children who lives here. Though I don't know all the story behind it, her children have all decided not to have anything to do with her - seemingly due to her homelessness. She became desperate, so she broke into an apartment, stole a credit card, and used it to buy some things for herself and Rick. Shortly after that, she was arrested and sent to a women's prison in Fresno. Now Rick is not only homeless, but alone.
Rick is not so different from the rest of us. He has an education. He pursued the "American Dream" and had a home and a family. He values relationships and wants to have friends. He does his best to live a friendly, caring life. He really is not so different than me, or my family, or many of my friends. Unfortunately, life handed him a crazy, painful, and overwhelming set of circumstances all at once. The amazing thing is that Rick is not bitter or angry about it. He told me that he starts every day by thanking God for another day to live, and he ends each day by thanking God that he provided for him that day. He isn't angry when people treat him poorly - instead he tries to cheer them up. He is a smart man who had everything he cares about taken from in over a short period of time.
Sometimes we pity the homeless. Sometimes we think to ourselves that "helpless" might be a better term for these people. On a good day, we may roll down our car window and hand them a five dollar bill, a hamburger, or an extra pair of gloves. But how often do we sit and listen to them? Rick is not someone who wants pity, he wants a listening ear. He is not really asking for handouts from people seeking to ease their own conscience, he is seeking dignity. He is not helpless - in fact, Rick has a lot to offer to anyone willing to sit with him in the cold Redding rain for a few minutes.
After talking with me for a while, Rick asked me if he could give me some advice. "Sure", I replied. His advice? Work for the Lord first and foremost because that is the most important thing. Then work with kids. He said that he thought I would be good with kids. Though he admitted that he didn't know a lot about kids, he thought that I would be good with them. He also emphasized that kids are the future. How they are taught, loved, and dealt with during their fundamental years of growth will greatly influence the world that is to come. How did this man know that I have always loved kids? How did he know that I had been struggling with direction in my life? How did this homeless man speak more truth into my life than any of my "friends" who know me had in a long time?
The truth is, Rick is not a helpless, homeless man - he is a man. Plain and simple, he is another human being with just as much to offer to me as anyone else. He is smart, thoughtful, reflective, and takes the time to connect with others if they will allow it. Rick is someone who could teach us all a few lessons in thankfulness, courage, trust in God, and optimism about humanity - yet he has more excuses than most people to just give up and become bitter.
Rick may end up sleeping in a dumpster again tonight, just as he did the night before I spoke with him. But that does not make him any less valuable to God or any less valuable to the rest of us if we will just lay aside our assumptions and take the time to talk and listen. Sometimes we think that we are the ones that need to give to others like Rick, but Rick gave more to me that day than I gave to him. May we all take the time to truly see the heart inside of people rather than just making our judgments based on the clothing, hairstyle, skin color, or economic status of those around us. Of course, if we take the time to do that, we just might learn something...