“We will never end homelessness until we deal with issues of the heart.”

Excerpts from Chapter 1

Lori’s words rang through my mind and stuck there as an unforgettable memory I’d rather forget.

Homelessness isn’t always physical.

I looked into the faces and eyes of people at the shelter. Some smiled and seemed rather joyful while others oozed pain from every pore. Most of the shelter guests fell somewhere in between the two extremes.

Then a frightening realization hit me. I recognized the looks. I saw it every day in stores and malls, in passing individuals on the street, and in the halls of the office where I worked. The same emptiness, fear, pain and despondency appeared in the faces of men and women who drove expensive cars and lived in luxury homes. If I took away the money, dressed them all in the same clothes, and placed them together in a large room, standing beside each other they would look exactly alike. The same heart issues, visible in actions and attitude, screamed for release.

Lori understood the plight of both groups. She told me she too suffered many of the beliefs and emotions her homeless friends and clients felt. Inside, she held some of the same emotions as those in the shelter. In all honesty, at times so did I. Perhaps that revelation scared me more than anything did as it smacked me right in the face. Hidden places in my heart sometimes looked like I belonged in a shelter. Over the next days, the sights and sounds of the shelter stuck with me, unshakeable in spite of attempts to forget.

The next weeks and months of conversations with my friend intrigued me more and culminated into a reality that plunged me into a world of questions without answers. Still, my heart longed for the journey to freedom, so I surrendered to the voyage, not just in search of healing for myself, but also for others who might have a homeless heart.

Thus begin a journey crossing several years and changing my perspective of my own heart. The book Same Kind of Different as Me told a beautiful story of how two men from extreme ends of society became great friends intertwined in discovery of how much commonality they shared. I couldn’t agree more. Homeless Hearts goes to a deeper level, looking at how our heart attitudes can resemble each other regardless of where we live.

I welcome you to my journey. Although I don’t have a release date yet, I am in the editing phase of this book. Come back to my blog often, share it with friends, and please leave comments. I want to know your thoughts and feelings as you read what I’ve learned. If I use anything you post, I will first seek your permission and give you credit. Thank you for traveling with me.