I met Colin a few years ago when I was working in the Sydney CBD. He was one of the local homeless guys that would set up at lunchtime in their favourite spot near work.

Every homeless person has a story to tell, and Colin was no different. Life had been going along fairly normally, when he injured his back and spent months in hospital with surgeries and recuperation. By the time he left hospital, his employer had fired him and withheld all his back pay and entitlements. This left Colin without job or money or the ability to pay rent, and the promise of a difficult legal battle to claim his wages. Without any significant people around him to help out, he ended up on the streets until he could find a way to get back to work.

Looking for work

From the time I first met him, Colin was always saying how he was looking to get back to work. I would buy him something to eat or drink here and there, but I would regularly just stay and chat with him. After some time the opportunity came up for him to renew his truck licence for work, so I was grateful to be able to help him with that as well.

After I moved out of the city to a different job I tried checking in with Colin a few times, but we fell out of touch. I often thought of him and prayed for him — prayed into his future, that he would find work and be able to get his life back together again.

Employed and no longer homeless

Today I received my first message from Colin for a long time. (edited for privacy)

…
You asked to let you know when I found work, well just found a job today starting after Easter. … I live in <edited> now and have done since just after I last saw you. … I should never have ended up like that but when you have no one and you give up on life you have to do what you can to survive. Thank you again as you and a handful of others cared enough to show me that people do care and that I had the strength to be better again. It took so long to find a job cause I had a bout of depression that stopped me even leaving the house. Now I’m getting my s**t together and taking my life back.

Come on! I had asked him to let me know when he got a job, and I’m so thankful that he remembered to tell me.

In a follow-up message, he said…

… I have no shame in how I was as it was a result of how people I knew wanted me to fail and fall. To me it created character and gave me a strength that has gotten me to where I am now.

Amazing. That’s the power of God’s redemptive love. And we have the privilege of coming along for the ride and just loving people. Years ago I would have responded differently and probably just walked past. Jesus has changed my heart so that my first response to people now comes from a different place — a place of love and compassion.

Praise God that he cares about every single one of us. Especially the ones who are disempowered and rejected by society.

 

Photo and story used with permission