we are ALL children of God!

 

"Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering and the lonely right there where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.” - Blessed Mother Teresa

I have a neighbor next door to me. He is a younger adult who, due to being born with fetal alcohol syndrome, lives on the margin of society. When we first moved in, as I was digging up a plot for my garden, my husband noticed this man outside, painting his shed. "I'm going over there to say hi," he announced. I smiled as I watched him continue to paint while my husband chatted with him. In only minutes, my husband returned. "His name is Dave. I told him who I was."
"That's it?" I asked. "His name is Dave?"
"He isn't very talkative," my husband replied.
And so, life went on in the neighborhood. I stayed busy when I was outside, and so, only noticed Dave rarely. He would repair lawnmowers and except for the occasional wave on my part, there was no real conversation.
One day, as I walked my two dogs, he was outside smoking a cigarette. I stopped and said hello, while he bent down to pet the dogs. That seemed to break the ice. He and I had a short conversation. A few days later, my nephew invited him over to throw horseshoes with him. Then came the fishing invite. As I drove those two to the lake, Dave was quite talkative as well as polite. I was charmed by his friendliness.
Then I wondered, why does no one ever visit with him? He had no real family to speak of. It seemed that because oif the label that society had given him, he was left out of what was ocuring in the world.

Do you know of someone who also lives in the margin of life? Someone who could benefit from a friendly conversation or maybe just some time spent with them? I used to have a neighbor, Genna, who was schizophrenic. Neighborhood teenagers would pelt her house with eggs, calling her "crazy lady" among other hurtful things. Yet with me, she would always hug me when she saw me, always tell me, "I'm praying for you!" and always leave me with an "I love you!"  I would shake my head at those would seek to hurt her, for what gain is it to harm an innocent person?

Look to those who need a smile today...who need encouragement. Instead of using  a label, as in, "he's disabled, retarded, autistic, an alcoholic, a veteran, whatever...." think of that person as simply a child of God. We ALL are children of God...some of us are just a little more lost than the rest of us!!
 

"And I saw the river over which every soul must pass to reach the kingdom of Heaven. And the name of that river was suffering. And I saw the boat which carries souls across the river. And the name of that boat was Love." St. John of the Cross