A man met us at the front door. A man who was once homeless and a crack addict, who had the most welcoming eyes and tenderness about him, in spite of years of harshness he faced on the streets. He showed us to the kitchen and dining room where we would be serving the food we had prepared, and we met a younger man, just out of college, checking things out in this community we were visiting. He was there by choice. What choices led to him making the decision to graduate from college and go straight to living at a Soup Kitchen called the Open Door in downtown Atlanta, I have no idea, but I have a huge feeling it had something to do with God. When we go back, maybe I’ll find the specific answer to his riddle.
We met many lovely people at the Open Door, about 20 or so people who live in this big old house downtown, people who serve those who are labeled “less fortunate”, the homeless, addicts, and/or “needy” people of Atlanta. It’s so hard to define these people who I am beginning to see through God’s eyes. There are so many Atlantans who are needy and have homes, much less those who are needy who do not have homes or family to take care of them, that I hesitate to add that label, but they are people in need.
I am a needy person. One of my needs was met as my friends and I spent the evening at the Open Door - my need to step outside of myself and do something nice for someone else. We went to the Open Door to feed the servants who give up so much of themselves to serve homeless/less fortunate people every day. It is their life to live in this house in community with 20 other people and take care of the needs of others. It is such a beautiful place. I kept thinking, “I feel so at home here.” We were welcomed into the family with no hesitation and no judgment.
We were shown around the big house, and shown how everything works. It was all so organized and not like what I had imagined at all. The Open Door offers an opportunity for those who are usually not treated with dignity a chance to feel dignified. It’s a place to get a meal and eat in a nice dining area, take a shower, get a change of clothes, a new pair of shoes, and even something as small as using a bathroom, which is a huge problem for street people, because Atlanta has done away with public bathrooms and it is against the law to use the bathroom in public, so what is a homeless person to do?
Good grief! I have so much I want to share and can’t organize all my thoughts into one blog posting, so I guess more will have to come later. The one thing I do want to say is that it was an honor to go to the Open Door with the beautiful friends God has blessed me with. Each has their own special gifts and one of those is sharing the love of Christ with me and others.
We met many lovely people at the Open Door, about 20 or so people who live in this big old house downtown, people who serve those who are labeled “less fortunate”, the homeless, addicts, and/or “needy” people of Atlanta. It’s so hard to define these people who I am beginning to see through God’s eyes. There are so many Atlantans who are needy and have homes, much less those who are needy who do not have homes or family to take care of them, that I hesitate to add that label, but they are people in need.
I am a needy person. One of my needs was met as my friends and I spent the evening at the Open Door - my need to step outside of myself and do something nice for someone else. We went to the Open Door to feed the servants who give up so much of themselves to serve homeless/less fortunate people every day. It is their life to live in this house in community with 20 other people and take care of the needs of others. It is such a beautiful place. I kept thinking, “I feel so at home here.” We were welcomed into the family with no hesitation and no judgment.
We were shown around the big house, and shown how everything works. It was all so organized and not like what I had imagined at all. The Open Door offers an opportunity for those who are usually not treated with dignity a chance to feel dignified. It’s a place to get a meal and eat in a nice dining area, take a shower, get a change of clothes, a new pair of shoes, and even something as small as using a bathroom, which is a huge problem for street people, because Atlanta has done away with public bathrooms and it is against the law to use the bathroom in public, so what is a homeless person to do?
Good grief! I have so much I want to share and can’t organize all my thoughts into one blog posting, so I guess more will have to come later. The one thing I do want to say is that it was an honor to go to the Open Door with the beautiful friends God has blessed me with. Each has their own special gifts and one of those is sharing the love of Christ with me and others.
3 comments:
one of my favorite parts from this experience was being labeled, 'linda's friends'.
i wish i could've gone with you
Good words.
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