Drumstick Dash
“I will not leave you orphaned.”
--A promise from the Holy One to us
This week I want to address the subject of homelessness in our society. It is much more pervasive than we might first imagine. Present economic conditions suggest it may get far worse before it gets better. We will explore the subject through a number of different lenses. Daily the attempt will be to paint a picture and offer an insight about how we can help homeless folk when they feel orphaned.
It’s Monday, so let’s start with an easy picture! In downtown Indianapolis there are several agencies that assist our brothers and sisters who are on the streets of Central Indiana. One of the agencies is Wheeler Mission. Through Wheeler people can experience a bit of home (home being a place where we can face our fears, experience a bit of freedom from the daily “stuff” that creates the fears and where there is someone who will receive our tears about those fears).
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be homeless in the way our Wheeler Mission family is homeless? Have you ever spent time experiencing that depth of alone-ness? At number of times I’ve lived with homeless folk for a period of time. Those “vacations” are probably some of the best times in my life. They helped me in more ways than I can verbalize in a short devotional. Living beside those who only know the street as their home brings about deepened awareness about the promise “I will not leave you orphaned.”
In cultural America we like to donate to worthy causes that truly help the homeless. Wheeler offers a great event early on Thanksgiving morning that my wife and I participate in each year we are in town. It is called DRUMSTICK DASH. It is a fundraiser that helps the hungry to be fed and the homeless housed. If you can’t take a week and live with the homeless, could you take a few hours on Thanksgiving morning and join the Drumstick Dash, enabling homeless folk to experience a bit of loving support?
--Ben Keckler
11.01.10
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