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Foundry United Youth Sunday Testimonies Matthew Jordan |
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Sunday, June 17, 2007 |
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All my
life I have lived at a place called Christ House, a medical facility for the
homeless here in For
many years, I grew up thinking nothing of these living arrangements – that there
wasn’t anything particularly unusual about being directly above a place where
the homeless come for medical care for things ranging from alcoholism to diabetes
to broken bones to terminal illnesses such as lung cancer. It was just the
way things always were, and it was something I always accepted. However,
as time has gone by, I have realized how grateful I am to have grown up at
Christ House. I see my childhood there as a gift, because it wasn’t something
I had any say in, but at the same time, I was exposed to many extraordinary
people. Of the
many guests that come to Christ House, I have gotten to know a few people
particularly well. James, not his real name, came to Christ House when I was
about three years old. He was barely able to walk because of nerve damage
caused by heavy drinking for many years. After going through recovery, he was
determined to walk again without a walker. He became my next door neighbor
for a while, and some of my earliest memories of him are seeing him walking
up and down the stairs everyday to regain his strength. When James
was living one room away from our apartment, I used to wait by his door while
he was at church, knowing that he had a large stash of candy in his room.
When he returned, he always invited me in, and we would both watch T.V. while
we ate his Snickers bars. While I
didn’t realize this at the time, it now strikes me as amazing how generous he
was to me. Homeless are generally looked down upon by society, and have so
many strikes against them that it would be impossible to give a full list in
the combined running times of the 9:30 and 11:00 services. His generosity
would never be something expected, nor was it something I asked for. This has
been reinforced again and again through Foundry in my three years experience
with Appalachia Service Project, or ASP. The generosity of those we serve
continues to amaze me. While people may have few possessions, their ability
to give cannot be measured in material ways. My best
memories of James involve Halloween. As he transitioned out of Christ House
and got his own apartment, I used to go trick-or-treating to his door. One
year, I remember being Robin Hood, with my very own green stockings and
plastic bow. This brings me to my next point. While I’m not saying we need to
literally steal from the rich to give to the poor, I do think it is unfair
how a few have so much while others have so little. I’ve realized as someone
who has been given a lot, I have a responsibility to those who don’t. To use
the example of another superhero, Spiderman, with great power comes great
responsibility. www.foundryumc.org |
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