Food for Others = Food for Thought

Day two of this intercession has been one thought-provoking event after another. With three plus layers of clothing, the cold still managed to “grip and rip” to the point that I hardly recognized my home state. Braving the cold, however, we got a lot accomplished and gained some great experiences in the process despite key breakages and police chases. In particular, the break-in provided a view of just how close the community of Habit for Humanity is, as our site leader Jack heard of and looked for solutions to the break-in moments after we saw police arrive.

In addition, meeting and hearing about what a wonderful person Olga made the experience of working on her house all the more meaningful. The opportunity to see who would be making the freshly painted house their home added a whole new dimension to the service we were providing.

The stories of Adam, GW, and Darrel illustrated and added an emotional connection to the content we read in our book. As I mentioned in our reflection tonight, I had not stopped to contemplate how laws enacted a few years ago by Pinellas and Hillsborough counties affected so many people. I remember discussing the homeless in one of my high school classes after the passing of this law, and recall that most girls were concerned about the homeless but at the same time made uncomfortable by panhandling and confronting homelessness face to face. However, I also now see that by attempting to hide the homeless, even with providing shelter, we are also putting the issue of homelessness in the shadows and thus not finding a way to enact permanent solutions. 

While passing along the hotdogs and coffee as well as talking to the people we interacted with, I was amazed by the stories we heard and the actions we saw. Many of the stories involved estranged parents, difficult childhoods, home fires, and a number of other harsh situations. I heard the phrase, “Never get a felony,” a couple of times in our discussions, and saw how our society affects self-perception. I was struck by the generosity shown when one man offered his jacket to a group of us as he waited to board a bus to escape the cold at the Boys and Girls club. Experiences such as these provide me with plenty of food for thought in how I choose to live my own life, and yet again I find myself learning and relearning crucial lessons from the people that we serve.