He looks like a young Heath Ledger, before dark cares started to trouble his soul. His blond curls and clear cheeks make him appear cherubic, innocent and carefree. The rimlight plays up the effect, making a halo out of his golden crown. He shouldn't be on the street.
But he is.
I wasn't with the team when they met him. I was off in another part of the city, on another adventure, completely oblivious of the contradiction of this boy. When I saw the black and white picture of him, all I could do was stare. He shouldn't be on the street.
The population of the street is getting younger. It isn't just high-schoolers but jr. highers who are making their way downtown. Some of the newbies are as young as ten or eleven. In generations past, the homeless were older people who were down on their luck.They had lives and had somehow messed them up. In the American belief system of self-made people, it seemed like their own choice. They had had their chance at a good life and wasted it. This kid hasn't even gotten in all his permanent teeth. His life should still be rosy and he should have parents who dote on him. He's far from being an adult but his heart already bares heavy scars, a sign that he is on his way to becoming a veteran of the street.
I don't know his story. I know that he's barely scraping the double-digits but I don't know why he finds refuge on the streets. Is home really that bad? Does his heart hurt that bad that he has to leave his family to numb the pain? In the second picture, his eyes are becoming hard. Like an older man who has seen the world and been disgusted with it. Bitter. Cynical. Innocence not only lost but ripped out and trampled on.
I hate what I see. I don't want him to have a tragic ending.
When God looks at people, I think He sees some of the same things. He sees beautiful, troubled people in desperate need of rescuing. He sees where they are headed and wants to change their ending. He wants good to triumph and people to live, really live. He doesn't want them to have to scrape by in life, just trying to survive, but He desires people to live exuberantly. To enjoy life to the fullest. He doesn't want souls to be cast down but to live in constant hope.
That is what this kid is missing. Hope. In a world where the word has become cliche, the reality of hope is long overdue. Hope for hope's sake is stupid and hollow. It's like training to swim the English Channel in your bathtub -- it's not going to get you anywhere. It just makes a mess of things. True hope, realistic hope, is different. It's knowing that God has your back, that He loves you, and that nothing you can do is going to change that. It's trusting in that and living your life around it. It alters everything. Even when the pieces of your life are crashing down you like glitter in a snow globe being kicked around, God is the constant center. He's the fixed point. He's the constant.
Some things will never change in live. People will always need love. Hearts will always be breakable and lives will never be fully shatter-proof. Kids like this one will end up on the street. It's the glory and pain of being free to make choices, to choose your own destiny, and impact the lives of those around you.
When I see this kid, I still see the possibility of innocence regained. I see a kid in need of a hug, but more than that, of constant, overwhelming, no-holds-barred love. Do you know what I don't see in his pictures? Other people. His life is empty. There is no one to give him that hug. No one to make him dinner. To drop him off at school. To tuck him into bed at night. No one to laugh at his jokes. To be a shoulder for him to cry on. To speak encouraging words to him. No one to hold him accountable. Tell him to make the right choices. Pick him up when he makes the wrong ones. No family. No friends. No one.
See the need. Be the change. Think about it. If you don't dare, who will?
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Presently we are struggling to prevent our 14 yo son who lives with bipolar disorder and other challenges from becoming the boy you talk of here.
Eloquently written piece.