In Genesis, we learn that God created mankind in His own image and declared that it is not good for man to be alone. He then created a companion for man. The first thing God did after creating them was to bless them and talk to them. God created us to be in relationships and to communicate with each other and with Him.
We all understand, to varying degrees, how important it is for us to have relationships. However, some of us have been hurt by others and, therefore, tend to withdraw from people. Some of us have troubles in our lives that make relationships difficult.
Our street friends are just like us. They need relationships, but sometimes, they have been hurt and therefore withdraw from others, and sometimes, they have troubles that make relationships difficult. Often, our street friends tell me our conversation is the first they have had that day. My observation is that there is a lot of loneliness on the street.
A few weeks ago, while walking down Bank Street, I ran into one of our friends. She was sitting on the sidewalk panhandling. I sat down with her, and we chatted for about 20 minutes. When I first came upon her, she was not doing well. She said that she was very lonely, missing her husband, who had died recently. She said that she finds it very difficult to live without him as he helped her with everything. She has a medical condition that makes it challenging to care for herself.
We chatted and prayed together. When I got up to leave, she said that she was feeling much better. I was feeling better too.
God made us to be in relationships. I’m thankful to OIM for the opportunity to engage our street friends in relationships.
~Sarah Pearce, Research Coordinator
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