What would be on his Christmas list?

He died alone, penniless, homeless on a hill overlooking the city he loved. He was abandoned by people he thought loved him. A stranger had to supply the place he would be buried in. He was a beaten man when his life came to an end. The most famous homeless person in history is never thought of that way. He lived his life doing good for others, giving always what God wanted them to have and telling them what God wanted them to know. He gave of himself everyday of the year and never once had a place to call home.

He depended on the kindness of strangers he met along the way. He was a humble man who committed no crime, harmed no one but helped everyone, yet he was poor. He came into this world as a humble stranger in a lonely stable in the town of Bethlehem, under a star and took his first breaths with the horses and other livestock. Yet this humble newborn was greeted by kings bowing in his presence as angels watched over him and shepherds astonished by his side. Christ was born to lead the way for us just as that star lead the way for the three travelers waiting for that one night.

Yes this man is Jesus. No one ever thinks of him as homeless, penniless and depending on the kindness of strangers, but that is how he spent the last three years of his life. He walked from town to town as he taught others how to live according to God's wishes for them. Yet God Himself, who could have snapped his fingers to have the wealth of the world delivered to His feet, relied on the kindness of strangers to put a roof over His head and food in His stomach. I often wonder how He would remember the people, who out of the goodness of their hearts, took care of Him.

He told us how to live our own lives and while we were at it, to take care of others as we would want to be taken care of. Christ told many parables to help us understand what he wanted us to always remember. From the good Samaritan to the Prodigal Son, the message was always about love, compassion and redemption. He spoke of the greatest gift a man could do was to be willing to lay down his life for his friends and as he already explained that meant everyone. When he told us that our neighbors were the people around us and not just next door.

For the homeless veterans, they were willing to lay down their lives for their country. They were willing to give up their own for the sake of others. At least half of these veterans have PTSD. Another price paid for their service. Yet if you talk to them, you find humbleness. Reluctant to speak of what they did or what they had to go through, some feel as if they are not worthy of being helped, some feel as if they have nothing left to give and ask for nothing to take but all wonder what it is they did wrong in all of this that they ended up homeless and forgotten by the nation they were willing to die for. These men and women are not just our neighbors, they are part of the reason we have what we have, freedom. Freedom to live as we choose to and yet in that freedom there are those among us who think that also means to suffer without anyone taking care of them, making sure they were fed, clothed or provided with a safe place to sleep.

For veterans homelessness is a price they still pay. Some gave up their businesses and jobs to serve in response to the attacks on this country and some did in order to provide better lives for their families than they could without being able to afford college. Some did it because they always wanted to join the military. For other veterans of other wars, some were forced to fight and yet they still risked their lives, left their families and friends, jobs, laying it all aside to do what the country asked them to do.

Some came home unable to work, with businesses closed or jobs gone. Some came home with the only training they had in the military and not applicable to the needs of most civilian employers. Yet half of them came home with wounds no one could see and they could not escape. All of our homeless veterans need the same kind of compassion Christ received while he walked on this earth. All our homeless need the same kind of compassion but most do not find it.

Some people wonder why I do not include all our homeless in most of what I write. My heart is tugged by the homeless veterans more because they are an indication as to where the heart of this nation beats. If we do not take care of the homeless veterans, those men and women who were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation, then the heart of this nation is hollow. If we refuse to take care of them, then what chance do the other homeless among us have?

One of the groups I belong to has been trying to do what we can for the homeless veterans at The Dom on the grounds of the VA clinic in Orlando. A magnificent woman, who would kill me if I put her name in this, put together a list of names and what the veterans want for Christmas. By the time she sent out the list to the rest of us, she had taken a lot of names on her own. What they asked for were mostly simple things like jeans, shoes, clothes. Some wanted what they may have been able to provide themselves with in better times like expensive items, but for the most part they were what most of us want or need. One wanted a mustache and beard trimmer, another a wall clock, another wanted to learn how to ride a Harley but one man wanted nothing for himself. He asked for bicycles for his daughters. Imagine that! A man who has nothing only thinking of his children. One veteran ended is small list with a request for prayers for those serving overseas today.

The DOM has over 60 homeless veterans this month. Not that you would know anything about it other than from this blog since the Orlando Sentinel avoids it. The men and women who work with these veterans dedicated their time and love to them. I can imagine what they would want the veterans to get this Christmas is the same they wanted last year and the year before that, and that is to have no more homeless veterans needing them.

I hope that as you read what these veterans want for Christmas you will remember what you are shopping for your own family and friends for. This is the time of the year when we are celebrating the birth of Jesus. The night when kings bowed down to a baby born in a manger and angels watched over him. This is the time we remember when God came down to earth to walk among us and strangers took care of Him, fed Him, clothed Him and gave Him a roof over His head. This is also the day we should remember what He taught us about taking care of each other with compassion, love, mercy and charity, expecting nothing back but the knowledge we did what God wanted us to do for someone who could never repay us. No one expected anything back from taking care of Christ but they heard His words as He touched their hearts. Can you open your hearts to take care of our veterans, especially the homeless veterans?

If you live in the Orlando area call 407-629-1599 ext 1727 for volunteer services and ask Sandra Boza what you can do for the homeless veterans they have. If you don't live in that area of the country, then call your own homeless veterans shelter and find out what you can do for them. It cost so little to let them know you have not forgotten them and in turn, you will be letting Jesus know you have not forgotten Him either. Give Him the kind of birthday gift He really wants from you.




Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington