Take Off Your Shoes – by Edith Yoder

This morning’s post comes from Edith Yoder Executive Director of Bridge of Hope an organization which has always impressed me tremendously.  Their mission is ending and preventing homelessness in your community . . .one church and one family at a time.  I was really impressed with the practical suggestions that Edith has for ways to help us become more aware of the plight of those who are homeless.  And this seems such a timely reminder as I think that homelessness is likely to become more of a challenge in the future.

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In this recent episode of Secret Millionaire there is a scene that really demonstrates “seeing.”

John, the Secret Millionaire, is with a hat shop owner, Amin, who takes donated clothing and hygiene kits to the homeless.   John is amazed that many people take only one item.

Most moving to John is when Amin gives the shoes off his own feet to a homeless man using a walker.  The older man explains that he was sleeping when someone went to the bathroom near his shoes.  He asks, “How did you know these were just what I needed?”  Amin explains that he saw that the man needed new shoes.

The theme of this year’s Bridge of Hope conference is “Walking in Another’s Shoes: Seeing, Naming and Acting.”  Our theme was inspired by the book The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor by Mark Labberton.  Board and staff members from Bridge of Hope affiliates and sites will gather in October for training, networking and encouragement.

We will attempt to “walk in the shoes” of homeless women and children, especially via a poverty simulation and pre-conference seminar.  I invite you to try (this month) one of these ways to “walk in another’s shoes”:

• Feed yourself/family for $3 per person per day for three days.
• When your gas tank needs to be filled, find an alternate form of transportation because you “don’t have money for gas.”  Take public transportation, walk, bike, call a friend for a ride or borrow money, or even cancel your plans.
• Be homeless – sleep in your car, pitch a tent in your or someone else’s yard, or bunk on a friend’s couch.  If you are married and/or have children, include them and spend time talking together about your experience.  You might consider sleeping in your clothes, not using a pillow, a blanket, or a toothbrush.

Recently I came across one of my favorite Elizabeth Barrett Browning poems:

“Earth’s crammed with heaven

And every common bush

Aflame with God,

But only those who see

Take off their shoes

The rest stand around

And pick blackberries.”

Perhaps if we took off our shoes more often and saw the bush aflame (God at work), we would find the space in our lives to try on one another’s shoes and see things from each other’s perspective.

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