Fatherhood, love, and homelessness.

March 30, 2010 by Chad

I am 27 years old, and I am soon to be a father. My wife could go into labor at any moment. And at that moment I will only be a few hours away from being responsible for a very little person who depends on me to love him/her, guide him/her, and take care of him/her. (We won’t know the sex until the little person comes!)

The reality of where I am at hasn’t sunk in, and I am sure it won’t until the moment I see my child for the first time. Already I love that little thing more than I’ve ever loved anything. This baby is a part of me. A gift so precious and beautiful from God that I could never thank the Father enough. Just to think of the first time my child looks at me.. what sort of love will I feel then? When it’s arms embrace my neck. When he/she cries for her daddy? Just the thought of it creates a swelling sensation in my heart.

As with most things, me being so close to fatherhood makes me think of all my homeless friends scattered across America. They are someone’s child. They are sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters. They were once babies, depending on their parents to love and care for them. Now they have been forgotten and given up on. Do you ever think about how that must feel? To know that you aren’t wanted by your family? To know that you have no other place to go other than the abandoned building on the edge of town? Could you imagine your son or daughter living in those conditions? Can you imagine your son or daughter as a young adult walking around the city, hoping to find food? Can you imagine your son or daughter being arrested because they fell asleep on a public sidewalk?

The homeless of America aren’t just a group of alien people who have no worth; they are our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers. They fell. They dream, hope, and fear. The heart in their chest beats, and their lungs breath in deeply. Their eyes see. As a new father realizing his love for his unborn child, this creates within me an even greater desire to go and love those who have been lost, neglected, and pushed aside.

What must our Father God feel about all those who are lost and in need?

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