"Preparing for Another Day"

EN ROUTE 9-11-15

I see him often on my way to work. He stands tall, this man of the streets. He wears camouflage pants, a hoodie sweatshirt and a knit toboggan cap even on the hottest of days. When I usually notice him, he is already walking on the sidewalks of South Main Street. This morning was different. He must have overslept. This giant of a man stood on the sidewalk (his path to who-knows-where) and began to do his morning stretches. He stood on one leg and bent his other leg, up and down. He switched and stood on the other leg. Again, he bent his leg, up and down. Then he stretched his arms far above his head. It was a good stretch like most of us do in our mornings. Does he whisper, “That feels so good” just as I do?

This morning, en route, I witnessed someone who seems to have spent the night on the streets. I drove by just as he prepared his body to spend the day on the streets, walking … walking … walking.

"O God, my prayers are that he might not be too hot in the clothing he wears, that he receives the sustenance his body needs for this day, that his morning stretches keep his joints from hurting, that there might be some rest in his day, that he might be safe and that he might receive another smile and another wave from someone other than me. Walk with him, please walk with him. Whisper "beloved child" to him. Amen."