MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS: "THE HOMELESS & HIS DOG." (PART 1)

MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS: "THE HOMELESS & HIS DOG."

WELCOME TO MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS AT MY JOURNALS BLOG!!

You see, there is a lady, a grandmother behind my computer screen. I retired my poetry corner and my inspirational site, due to my health issues (physical and emotional), plus my personal matters. I plan to update my journals blog only on monthly basis due to the reasons mentioned above. If I find more time to spare along with a sparkle, a muse of inspiration, I'll certainly share more posts on my journals.

I am still engaged with too many tasks, such as writing in Christian American Forums. I have got hundreds of wonderful Online friends, so I keep busy...

You see, I was born with a case of Allergy to only certain deadly allergens which cause my asthma attacks. So, I am a lifetime allergy sufferer. My Medical Doctor, who is a Specialist in Allergy, has given me a treatment of Vaccines to take in order to improve my Immune System, and develop a better protection from those deadly allergens. She said that my overweight does not help me at all for my breathing, my constant fatigue, and my tachycardia (fast abnormal heartbeats). She advised me to do a little exercise outdoors every day, to take Yoga Lessons, to go for a walk on daily basis, to go on a Diet, to breathe fresh air outdoors, and go swimming, if that is possible for me. I must go back there regularly for my health check ups. Anyway, I live with my companion, who is a Medical Doctor and Surgeon, so I am on a safe side anyway, at least for now. In other words, I should change my life completely for the better, if I wish to live a longer and healthier kind of life. Then, I'll work less, rest more, and follow my Doctor's advice. I make plans to travel to New York on vacations next year, to visit my family, my dear daughter and grandchildren, if that is God's will. Service workers at Airports usually push me on a wheel-chair around Airports. That service helps me...

After 40 years of a hard working life, I certainly deserve a good healthy break for a change. Don't you agree?? I wonder...

Thank you in advance for understanding!! Now, I share today's story, "The homeless & his dog."

Poet Starry Dawn.

"THE HOMELESS & HIS DOG." (PART 1)

I sat with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town square. The food and the company were both especially good that day. As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back, and his dog next to him cuddling. He was carrying a well-worn sign that read, "I'll work for food." My heart sank...

They appeared to be HOMELESS.

I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him and his dog. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.

We continued with our meal, but their image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car. Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: "Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square."

Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him and his dog. He was standing on the steps of the Church, going through his sack, and cuddling his dog. I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor: THE HOMELESS.

"Looking for the pastor?" I asked.

"Not really," he replied, "just resting."

"Have you eaten today?".....

"Oh, I ate something early this morning."

"Would you like to have lunch with me?".....

"Do you have some work I could do for you?" He asked...

"No work," I replied. "I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch."

"Sure," he replied with a smile.

As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. "Where were you headed?"

"St. Louis."

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"Oh, all over, mostly Florida." He said.

"How long have you been walking?" I asked.

"Fourteen, 14 years," came the reply.

I knew I had met someone unusual, the homeless and his dog. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant. I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, "Jesus is The Never Ending Story."

Then, John's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen, 14 years earlier, while backpacking across the country in the States, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona... He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A Musical Concert, he thought.

He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert, but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God.

"Nothing has been the same since," he said, "I felt the Lord was telling me to keep walking. So, I have done some 14 years by now."

"Ever think of stopping?" I asked.

"Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me. But, God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. They are in my sack. I work to buy food for me and my loyal dog, and Bibles. Then, give them out when His Spirit leads."

I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice with his best friend, his loyal dog. The question burned inside for a moment, and then I asked: "What is it like?"

"What?" He asked.

"To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?" I said.

"Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make ugly or nasty comments. Once, someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then, it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me." He replied.

My concept was changing too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused, turned to me and said, "Come, be blessed of my Father, and inherit the Kingdom I have prepared for you. For when I was hungry, you gave me food, when I was thirsty, you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in."

Part 2 of this story will continue...

Thank you in advance for reading!!

STARRY.