Setting Prisoners Free

I write this with a heavy heart... a heart that often throbs.... Even though I totally love working with people who are homeless and poverty-stricken, there are a couple of things that often leave me languishing with a very heavy heart.... Even though hope and joy are not foreign concepts to me and they surround me everyday, there are a couple things that continually rear their ugly heads, leaving me stewing with a very heavy heart.... Despite my efforts to embrace all the goodness and beauty of what I'm privileged enough to do, these couple things constantly battle me and my ideals, trying desperately to dash all the hope, joy and love I cling to!.... So what are these couple of things? The first thing is the daunting and daily reality that my homeless friends are dying! My life is surrounded by the actuality of death! The nature of my life in Chicago is constantly calling me to support and hold the hands of my homeless and poverty-stricken friends, a...

I'm happy! and so are my co-workers... The hard work is paying off! The networking is reaping rewards! The perseverance is now justified! Kingdom Love gently shuffles about! Prayers are being answered! We are seeing so much continual perpetual movement at the moment; our people are getting housed at a steady and consistent pace. Hope is resonating throughout Uptown's homeless community. Many doors are opening, so I don't think it's wrong to celebrate this surprising success, because recently we've seen....  3 homeless men got their keys today; they are now..... "homeless no more!" 5 homeless men signed their leases this week; they are now.... "homeless no more!" Do you know how much hope this gives to homeless people who are often living with little or no hope?   Do you know that these stories of successful movement restore people's faith in humanity and God? Do you know that when a fragile homeless person finds a home, love is...