Sagacious Saturday: Mission Accomplished
Mission Accomplished
Welcome and welcome back ☀️. It's another amazing day in paradise 🤩. Thank you so much for being here.
This card made me cry.
We were standing at our spot and this young lady drove up to where we were and stopped. Wisdom likes to go to the cars because he remembers to give out the bubbles we offer as a way to say thank you. She handed him the card, wouldn’t take the bubbles (not unusual), smiled, waved as I said “thank you” and drove away.
I asked Wisdom if he wanted to open the card and he did. As you saw, the outside says “thank you very much”. All of the inside is handwritten: the words, the smiley faces, the stars and the other decorations. When I saw the words, “You are needed” tears immediately ran down my cheeks.
I couldn’t get them to stop. I just bowed my head and kept wiping. Wisdom came up to me and said, “you’re emotional.” He hugged me as I nodded. I Love my superhero. I’m getting emotional now just writing about it.
Compassion manifests in so many ways. That was one of them. I didn’t even know I needed that message. I’m grateful she did. It alleviated some of my silent suffering.
It took less than two hours to generate the money we needed for 2 nights. We received a total of $164, the card, a $20 gift card for Wegmans (already gone), 4 bottles of water with a box of granola bars, several waves and smiles too.
Photo caption: Money, 4 quarters which I forgot to put with the bills, $20 gift card plus the water and granola bars which came in the bag.
The waves and smiles are so important because I appreciate the people who recognize our humanity. I also honor that some of the people who pass feel bad. I can see the sadness in their eyes.
We’re OK! We really are. We know how to homeless in a way I imagine no one else even thinks about. I strive to keep our nervous systems regulated.
I also think some feel bad when they can't help because they're struggling too. If someone stops and says that I always ask for them to pray for us or send good vibes our way because they work!!
It’s important to me to mention that the bulk of the money came from one person, an older white woman. She gave us 5-$20 bills. Yes, $100. I only mention her demographics because I think it’s important to state that when I say we get help from EVERYONE, I mean we get help from EVERYONE.
Her gift paid for one night and we were about $15 from being able to book 2 nights, so we stayed. Two more gifts came in, one for $3 and the second for $20. We immediately packed up and left. It was just after 1p.
I also want to highlight the Asian gentleman, driving a box truck who stopped across the street from us. He beckoned to me to come over, handed me some money and asked if we needed water. He had such a strong accent. When I say EVERYONE, I mean everyone.
This is why the city of Raleigh has people panhandling in all areas of the city. We have a city full of compassionate people who meet people's needs without judgment. It is my intention to gather them so people don’t have to panhandle.
People deserve homes. They deserve employment they desire that sustains them. They deserve to be able to meet their own needs and potentially live the life of their dreams. They deserve to live in a state of rest and digest.
One of the things I most appreciate about the Samaritan’s story was how he met the man’s needs. He extended to him the mercy he needed, not simply the mercy he wanted to give.
Most people believe that giving something is better than giving nothing. But if that person’s need isn’t met, then it really isn’t mercy. It’s not compassion. Speaking from experience, it often makes the way harder for the person who’s already struggling.
Yesterday I started this discussion (finally) posting about being homeless and panhandling as a way to introduce my (newly discovered) niche: compassion. God has been nudging me to start a series called “This Is How We Homeless” for some time now. I haven’t wanted to.
I’m not ashamed of our situation. In fact I was talking to God early last Sunday morning. I was contemplating why we panhandle. I don’t do it from a place of shame. I do it from a place of faith.
It’s my testimony that God operates through people. And I experience God more fully because of the people who cross our paths for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
I am honored and grateful that we’ve gotten to a place where we are able to navigate this experience so successfully, without a stable home. PLUS we’re moving towards a destination where we can implement solutions and get people in homes.
I get that people don’t understand. I’m mostly OK with that (just being honest). Eventually I’ll address that.
Right now it’s most important for me to focus on what I’m doing because there are a lot of people who need help. There are a lot of people (ages 0-99) who are sick, hurting, tired, etc. Like the young lady who’s sharing our hotel room with us (different from the young mom I wrote about a couple of weeks ago).
Photo caption: Our guest sleeping on the other bed last night while Wisdom played.
There’s also the older father with 3 children in his care that drove to Ohio at a friend’s invitation to stay with them. A day later they were asked to leave because his 3 year old is too active for the person to be able to work.
There’s the older gentleman who used to stand on the corner down the street from where we hustle. His sign said he has lymphoma. I haven’t seen him lately. I hope he’s OK.
There’s… the list goes on.
Before I go, I have a few more shoutouts I need to make before I close. I struggled to know whether this should go first or last. Since the post was about panhandling specifically it made sense to address that first. But I also need to thank everyone who reached out in concern and/or sent money after seeing my posts.
Our change is coming. Thank you for being a part of it. Please know that our change means change for others because of one simple word: compassion. The compassion me and Wisdom have been extended is what moves me to act for others, under God’s guidance and direction.
In closing, I have one last, very important, shout out. A huge thank you to the management of the hotel we are staying at. I’m not naming them now. One day I’ll officially let them know though.
Because check out is at 11a. Late checkout is at 12 noon. I told the manager we were staying over and asked her to give me until 12 noon to make the reservation. I didn’t book and pay for it until 1:18p (verified via my email) so we didn’t make it back until about 1:30p to update the reservation for the room. I appreciate their compassion in not locking us out of our room and kicking us off of the property when we weren’t back when I said.
Now if you’re interested in getting involved with what I am doing please check out the blog post called Eliminating Homelessness Inside and Out. It gives you a good idea about what I’m working on. Things have evolved since I posted it but the basics remain the same, we’re housing people compassionately.
If you’re already interested, then please check out my digital business card or click here to fill out a form declaring how you’d like to get involved. You can also provide financial support to Wisdom and I directly or contribute to the fundraiser a friend is hosting for us through my digital business card.
Thank you again, especially if you made it this far. Thank you in advance for how you'll continue to bring more compassion to the world. Enjoy the amazing day you're creating 🪄✨. ☮️…
#ThisIsHowWeHomeless
#DoYouKnowMommaKai
#ItsTimeToLUV
#EmancipatedMomma
#LUVEnterprisesPresents
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