Many Homeless People Have burned the Bridges Back to Their Families
Forgiveness isn’t always possible
You are driving along and you see the homeless people with their signs, or you see one sleeping on a bench. You might see them under the influence of something. If you’re a compassionate person you would wonder where are the families.
I’m not an expert on homelessness, mental illness, or substance abuse. I have struggled with emotional and mental health issues. I have been estranged from my family as well. So many homeless people have burned the bridges. Those bridges will never be rebuilt.
Hurts that never heal
It’s an Infinite Loop of tragedy. I know this from personal experience. I was homeless for almost three years. I have family that quit speaking to me. We’re talking now, but not very often. When we do talk it’s not like it was.
I’m not going to play the victim card. I made mistakes. They weren’t made with bad intent, but that doesn’t matter. I’m still paying for them. Humans can only go so far. There is a breaking point, and once it’s reached it’s hard to repair the damage, and that’s sad.
There seldom was self-pity, it was what it was
It’s sad sitting on a bench in the park listening to someone talk to their child on the phone. There’s love in the person’s voice. he/she loves their child. but their bad choices cost them custody and in some cases they lost the Right to be alone with their children.
I have seen the pain of people who were not told of the death of an ex-spouse or a parent. Their family was still so angry at the person. They froze them out of the funeral, or they didn’t tell them the loved one was sick.
Nice folks who made mistakes
I’m not going to Pontificate and say we should forgive and forget. I’m telling you the way things are. Another sad thing about it. I was friends with some of those people and some of them I’m still friendly with on Social Media.
They’re nice folks. I was around them all the time and I never felt in danger. I never saw them do anything scary. I don’t know what they did in the past and I don’t know what they were capable of when I knew them.
Forgiveness is beautiful, but some people can’t get there
I know that there was estrangement and in some cases hatred from their families. I don’t have answers. I know that there is a lot of hatred in the world and a lot of bitterness. People can’t, or they refuse to forgive.
Hatred toward a member of your own family is a sad thing. I’m not judging. It would be better to make peace and mend the relationship, but I know, that doing that isn’t always possible.
Final Thought:
Don’t judge homeless people, and don’t judge their families. There’s anger and pain there that you will never wrap your head around. Pray for the Homeless and pray for their families.
