Holding onto faith

I love my kids. I'd do anything for them. So when my son and his girlfriend were leading an initiative to give Christmas presents to the homeless in the city and needed volunteers, I was there for him. We gave out clothes, socks, outerwear, cookies, gift cards, and bibles.

I tried to think if I was a homeless person, would a bible be appreciated? I wasn't sure if that was a very practical thing. Would some of them toss it aside? Sell it? Burn it to keep warm? But I learned something interesting.

People in the worst of situations still have faith.

I was the driver, so mostly it was the kids who jumped out of the van to distribute the gifts. I tried to discretely take photos, so as to not invade the privacy of the homeless. What I saw and photographed really moved me, and changed my opinion on distributing bibles. I saw these young people hold hands and pray with the homeless. It was beautiful. Then they hugged them. The homeless people smiled and waved as we left.

We came upon a woman who stated that she was "homeless and not ashamed." I wish I had gotten out of the car to talk to her a bit, but I wasn't in a parking spot to do so. She was very friendly and I would have liked to have known her name and her story on how she became homeless. The kids asked her if she wanted a bible, but she proudly stated that she already has one.

Then there was Terry. A vibrant, outgoing, funny, smart young man. I'm not sure his story was entirely true, but he interacted with the kids by telling jokes and reciting passages from the bible. He also said that God has plans for us and gives us challenges to overcome. We had a prayer circle, with him leading it. I didn't pay much attention because the skeptic in me was keeping one eye on the van and our personal belongings.


I learned that there are so many people who are Christian and homeless. They could easily turn away from God, because if he existed, why would he allow them to suffer? But they hold onto their faith. They have nothing else. If it gives them hope and comfort, let them have that.