The Seasons of Our Story

I met Ben while working with Help Portrait, Nashville. Ben is homeless at this point in his journey. He's out there everyday leaning on his crutches, selling the Contributor magazine to make money to survive. Yesterday I was downtown so I gave Ben a visit on his usual corner. As we spoke he began to open up & tell me a little bit about his life. How he’s in constant pain as he stands there day in and day out selling newspapers at a buck a piece. He shared a little bit about his Spina Bifida which he says is a result of his mother’s alcoholism while she was pregnant with him. He told me about the years growing up with alcoholic parents who hit him with beer bottles & whatever else was in reach at the right time. He showed me a scar where in some sort of rage his dad stabbed his wrist with a knife. I listened to him continue to tell his story as he was shivering from the cold, leaning into his crutches, sharing his heart, his pain, his struggle while taking pauses to sell papers to his “regulars” inbetween stories. He told me how he’d been clean for 8 years now & how he “wouldn’t even step foot into a place that sells the stuff”. He’d seen the destruction, tasted it himself & wanted no part of it. Before I left he urged me to send anyone I knew struggling with alcohol addiction to talk to him & that he’d share his experience & maybe be able to help them in some way. What a beautiful heart. 

            

As I drove home I thought about all the other homeless men & women that I pass everyday. I thought about how they all have a story..how WE all have a story. The bitter, grumpy waitress, the guy who just cut me off in traffic, the man who sits on the corner asking for a handout, the girl who dances every night at Deja Vu. They are sons, moms, brothers, daughters who all have a story and if they had a chance would probably love to share it with someone. Most of them not in a place they plan on staying forever or even thought they’d ever be. 

We all have times in our life when we feel pretty solid, have it somewhat together & are doing ok, and then there are those times where we are undone, messy, sometimes a total wreck. The ebbs & flows, the ups & down of life. We may meet somebody who is in a tough season & label them or define them by where they are at that moment. He’s a bum, she’s a tramp, he’s an addict. Let's try to remember story…..we’ve all got one, no one part of our journey defines us. It all works together to make one big beautiful messy story.  I’ve found sometimes that the more messy the journey has been, the more beautiful the story becomes.