Homeless Isn’t Always Houseless

I’ve just done something utterly crazy to some people. I drove to Walmart for a few items and to get gasoline before everything closed for Christmas. I thought about going after the evening church service, but I thought that the stores would be packed and I didn’t feel like facing the crowd. Because I didn’t want to mingle with the last minute shoppers, I said to myself, “When you wake up in the middle of the night for the usual bathroom run, make the Walmart run as well,” and I did.

It was semi-snowing with icy pellets mixed in. After cleaning my car, I carefully drove to Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. In the center of the town, I was greeted by the nativity, its old figurines and “starry” lights welcomed me. The streets in town were clear and absent of the snow that covered the roads near my house.

The shoppers at Walmart were almost non-existent, employees made up the bulk of the faces that I saw. The drive to and from the store were reminiscent of the late evening drives after my shift at the hospital. As a nurse, being off duty during the holidays was an extreme luxury. The drive home at 11:30 Christmas Eve was a long and lonely trip, seeing so few other vehicles on the road and so many of the businesses closed.

As I drove, I was reminded of how things had changed. Back then I was driving home to be with my family. Now, I was driving to my house. Oh, the furniture and Christmas tree are the same, but my wife Cindy is no longer there to greet me and my family has left the nest. I still have a warm place to live, but much of the life has left too.

Don’t get me wrong. I am truly grateful to have a house and my family, but the ties that make a house a home have frayed. I am looking forward to Christmas Day, when my children and grandchildren come and visit, making it a home again, even for a short while.

Christ’s birth was a gift from God and a blessing to all. Merry Christmas.