Alone

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It dawned upon me just now that all of the complaining and crabbing done by the residents here at the homeless shelter is but a farce. A ruse to cover up the one thing that none of us wanted to admit-- we don't want to leave. The outpouring of love here is something we have never known, or have forgotten. Abused most or all of our lives, only to grow up and though, try as we might our own children are ripped from our arms by the state. Disowned by family and friends we took to the streets for solace. Many of us turned to addiction and crime, but nothing seemed to bring content. Convinced that perhaps the idea of God was nothing more than mere fantasy and we were destined to walk through hell the rest of our days, somehow we ended up here. Broken, tired, humiliated we tried to hide our pain, cover our scars. But slowly, ever so slowly each one of us went through what I call "the thaw." We realized that here there is no judgement, for we are all the same. Homeless does not have to be a smelly dirty curse, for here we are able to start brand new. A baptism of sorts I suppose. And even though the light of that brand new beginning is out there shining, we don't want to leave here. Because these people have become our family, more than the blood that shut their doors on us. I'm watching the ones who were here when I got here venture out, one by one. And I smile as I shed a tear, knowing that in some small way or another I have impacted them all. It is my purpose and my gift. They don't know I am writing their story, my story, the one with the surprise ending. When all of life's failures turn into the miracle of success. And to each of you- every story can be a turn around miracle. Go get yours.