My friend Matthew

I absolutely love the homeless feedings and am a little bummed that my time volunteering there was finished this week. It is during these times that I am reminded of what I love; Relationship building, being able to serve the community that I live in, and meeting people like Matthew. But before I talk more about him maybe I should mention a part of my upbringing.

I grew up in an extemely loving and happy home, I knew that I was loved deeply by my parents but we had our issues too, my dad was an alcoholic- a binge drinker, someone who wouldn't drink for months or years at a time but when he would slip and it would turn into a 1-2 week ordeal.
I remember pouring out bottles that we would find around the house, hiding it if we didn't have time to empty it, I remember waking up to him not being home, knowing at a young age that there was a chance that he may not make it back, I remember crying myself to sleep wondering if he was ok, I still remember the smell that the house would take on, hearing the dry heaves from the basement, but mainly I remember begging him to get help, or threatening to leave if things didn't change.
Honestly, I'm sooo extremely grateful for a mother who would let me fall asleep in her arms, and a teacher who would tell me that I needed to keep loving him and know that he was sick but he still loved me deep down, I'm thankful for my "uncle" Charlie who somehow always knew when to come and just be with my dad, I'm thankful for a grandmother that never stopped praying and also a whole long list of people who also prayed. It's through some many supportive people that I am able to say that my dad has been sober for 9? years and he cleaned himself up and is becoming the man that God has intended him to be.

Ok. Back to Matthew, this man is also someone who was deeply rooted in drugs and alcohol, someone who used to be homeless and lost his wife and children because they couldn't handle his addictions any longer.

But the Matthew I met is completely different then who he was. I saw a strenght in Matthew that reminded me of my father, a strenght of a man who had some many people come against him, who once held onto a lot of bitterness, and sadness in his life, but the strenght that he now carries within himself is so deep and powerful that he was able to change the outcome of his life.
This strenght that I am talking about you can only find when you realize that you are created for so much more, that there is more to life then just getting through the day.
I am so thankful for meeting Matthew, he is a reminder to me, of where my family was, and where we are now. Hearing him speak of his broken past brought me back to a place of remembering those that I was once close to that are also now caught up in the same issues Matthew faced, but it also brought upon encouragement that there is still hope for those people, that if they found that same strenght my dad and Matthew found that they could also become people of change and impact.

Matthew is now a man who has been clean for 8 years, who now has a decent job, he currently has a growing relationship with his two boys, is no longer living on the street, volunteers within his community, and still finds time to go snorkeling and fishing, but mainly he is now a man that comes to homeless feedings to be reminded of what his life once was, and how he was able to find the power of God to get him out and change the course of his life.