Dedicated to Michael. Wherever you are, we hope you have found peace, safety, and a place to belong.
When Ben and I got married we talked a lot about our dreams, our hopes, and how we wanted to change the world. Something we both had in common was our desire to get into charity and non-profit work. I have always had a special place in my heart for the homeless in our communities. When I was on my mission I had the privilege of getting to serve in an area where there was something called a, "Warming Center". In Post Falls, Idaho you can imagine that the temperatures get pretty cold. Whenever it was going to be too cold outside, they would open up a basement area of a transitional housing center and bus in as many of the vagrant population as they could find that would willingly come with them. We would then have people donate dinners and we would feed them, talk with them and we all rested a little easier knowing that at least they had somewhere warm to be for that night.
Ben and I moved into a small apartment when we got married, and we have a lot of memories from that space. One of the memories that has touched my life in a way I don't think I will ever forget is a man named Michael.
Michael would periodically be on one of the major intersections that surrounded our home trying to collect money for what we all hoped was food and other necessary supplies. For a while, neither Ben nor I paid much attention to him. But then something changed and he kept showing up time and time again.
Neither Ben or I carry cash on us very often, but on one occasion, we did have a few dollars with us and we decided to give it to Michael. Ben rolled down the window at the redlight and had a short exchange with him before it turned green. Now, I know some people will have the opinion that he was using the money he got from people for drugs, alcohol, etc. And you know, it could very well be that. I don't have proof that he didn't use it for that. However, in my life, I have decided that it is not my place to judge. I do not know what he needs, I only know that he is in need.
Throughout the year that we lived in our apartment we would stop and give to Michael as often as we had money to. On several occasions we would give him food instead, which he was equally grateful for. He always remembered us, and we always remembered him. Because of Michael, it became almost a habit to keep the little bit of cash we would collect handy for when we saw him.
Shortly after Valentine's Day of 2016 we stopped seeing Michael. Overnight he disappeared. There had been a bought of rain, and so we wondered if once the weather cleared up, he might appear again, but he never did. It's silly, but I think every time we drive through that area both Ben and I look for Michael. It's been almost 6 months. It's funny, but I think we both worry.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people can touch our lives. I don't know where Michael is, or what he's doing now, but I do know that somehow, in the short conversations we had, he changed our lives and we will never be the same.
Thank you, Michael. ... Thank you.
