For sixteen years, I worked in downtown Minneapolis. During that time, I would frequently see a certain homeless man who would typically be standing on the sidewalk, talking to himself. His disheveled hair, dirty appearance and ragged, baggy pants would stick out in contrast to all the smartly dressed business people, who would pass him by. One time, this man stood in the entry way to Bruegger’s Bagels and all the business people would walk around him as though he didn’t exist...
I frequently wondered what happened in his life to cause him to turn to the streets for so many years. I wondered what his boyhood was like. Did he go to grade school? Did he have a favorite teacher? Did he have a friend or a crush on a girl in his class? Did he ever have a kitten or a puppy to play with? Did he get Christmas presents and wait up late hoping to see Santa Claus? Did he get birthday presents? Did he ever blow out candles on his birthday cake after making a wish? I wondered if he dreamed—did he ever dream of becoming a scientist or professional baseball player? Whatever his dreams may have been, they were shattered by someone or something that left a deep wound and a lifetime of wondering aimlessly on the streets of Minneapolis.
Two years ago, I read about a man in his 30’s who jumped to his death in the parking lot at the Mall of America. Authorities were unable to identify who the man was. No one ever stepped forward who knew this man. He had brown hair with a mustache and beard and weighed about 200 pounds. He was found with a cigarette lighter and 95 cents in his pocket. The county selected a funeral parlor. The funeral director said, "My dad(who was also a funeral director) said that everyone deserves to die in dignity." So the funeral director prepared the man’s body and bought a suit for his burial. Since he didn’t know his name, the tombstone says, "Only God knows who lies here."
These stories leave me sad and somewhat angry at our world’s lack of mercy and compassion. God smiled on the day these two men were born. But it was our lack of mercy and compassion that ruined God’s beauty that He placed in each of these souls. My Christian faith leads me to believe that in the mess and madness of our world, there is beauty and will always be beauty that can unfold from underneath all of this pain. God is always there bringing the depth of His grace and compassion into our hearts along with His gentle healing love and His embracing peace that will give us boldness and courage to bring a new beginning for all.
In the womb
God’s masterpiece formed;
A beautiful child
About to be born.
Eyes that twinkle
With God’s holy joy;
Smiles and laughter
For each girl and each boy.
God’s beauty incarnate,
A light lit from above,
Extinguished by our darkness
And failure to love.
Eyes that twinkled
Are now wrinkled and saddened.
Smiles are stolen
By our lack of compassion.
Though a thousand may fall
And ten thousand may die;
God is with us in trouble
And He hears every cry.
May God’s grace embrace
And unfold from our pain;
May God’s wings carry us forth
Where love always will reign.
- Dean Robinson / drobinson @ sebesta.com
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