A story of a man who was at the top. at the bottom, at the top!!!

A Weekend Read May 13 2012!

Only A Homeless Man:( A fictional story by Adena)

The nights were becoming colder and there weren’t many places to sleep that gave shelter from the wind and changing seasons.  He had managed some hot food at the shelter but there were no beds left unspoken for so he wandered aimlessly through the dusk until it became too dark to search any longer.  He knew of a place under an overpass where pipes ran over land.  There was warmth there and he remembered leaving a good piece of cardboard with some old coats there several nights ago.  It seemed like it was pretty close by.

As he lay down from exhaustion and loss of will to go on, it wasn’t long before he craved sleep, perhaps a time of pleasant dreams when things were different.

He wasn’t sure why he was even still alive.  What gave him this undisputed will to go on, to hold on to the sanctity of life?  It seemed as if ending it all would be the reasonable answer.  Who would care?  No one would really miss him, would they?

His thoughts continued to return to another time...............”The party was jumping’, the booze tasted sweet and the women were delicious.  The evening was young and he was having a “ball”.  The career had fallen into his lap and he was a success!  He knew he was climbing the corporate ladder soon to be one of the top execs in the company!  Sure, there were a few things that bothered him but he was learning to ignore them and pretend they weren’t happening.  His conscience didn’t seem to get in the way like it had at first. He learned to avert his eyes and look to other aspects of the operation telling himself that everything was fine!

 As he continued to climb, the company flourished and his lifestyle became a succession of parties, women, booze and drugs. 

It was times like this when he allowed his thoughts to wander and get away from him that he needed to remember the good times, he thought it kept him sane. He always had a faint pleasant memory of one special woman who was, somehow a little different than the other party girls, Jenine was her name.  Funny how he could always recall her name.  He couldn’t put his finger on it but there was definitely something about her................something that brought him comfort in his despair.  “Why” he wondered?

His thoughts drifted to the horrible court scene where he was charged with embezzlement and he vividly remembered the eighteen-month jail sentence.  Most people thought that after eighteen months behind bars, a person would learn and be able to recover but it wasn’t that way with him.  The only job he could find was washing dishes in a ‘greasy spoon’ cafe.  He remembered thinking he was too good for this kind of employment and refused to do it any longer.  It was the beginning of the spiral that led him to where he was today. His only companions were his thoughts and memories.

Each day was lonely but the nights were indescribable.  How could he have let this happen?  The unfortunate thing was, he knew exactly why things were as they were.  He relived it every day. 

He seldom allowed himself to remember farther back, to when he was a child.

His boyhood had been ‘happy’,  that word was certainly foreign but he had been  ‘happy’ when he was at home with his family.  He had felt loved by his parents but their rules and regulations were beyond following and they left little room for independence and creativity. 

When he was offered the ‘job’, before he graduated from college, he knew he had to accept it.  He also knew his Father was relying on him to carry on the family business; but surely they did not expect him to say “no” to this offer. 

He had a quick mind and this offer would allow him to use it.  Besides, the salary, a new car and unlimited expense account were nothing to ‘scoff’ at.  The position had been described as a business offer that could lead to a partnership in a short time with a new and vibrant company.  It involved shuffling papers and moving huge amounts of money from one account to another, often from one country to another.

 

As time progressed, he became proficient at what he was expected to do and evolved into a respected member of the company.  What did his parents know about big business anyway?  And so he threw himself into his new career and forgot about his parents.  It had been years since he had seen them or even bothered to visit. He was absolutely finished with the family rules and their beliefs, which had come from that intolerant church they were attending. And what about this God that his parents worshipped anyway?  Where was he now?

He awoke with his head throbbing and the never ending drumming of incessant rain pounding on the surrounding concrete.  His “bedroom” was being invaded by rivulets of water soaking into his “bed linen”.  He soon realized his state of weakness brought about from hunger and cold and neglect to his physical being.  As he slowly managed to lift himself from his despairing situation, he began his ritual search for a morsel of sustenance to help him face another day of meager existence.

As he forced himself to stagger up the steep embankment to the street, he could make out the forms of others who were slowly making their way to the shelter as well.  He approached the mission, and heard beautiful music and singing that seemed trancelike and didn’t belong here in this area.  The call of the melodious notes beckoned him until he was standing inside the little mission, which he had so often ignored.

The singing was coming to a close and he felt like he should move on but just then a woman was introduced as ‘Jenine” the speaker of the morning.  A strange sensation welled up inside him as he realized this was the ‘Jenine’ of his past. 

His thoughts ran rampid and the last thing he wanted was for her to recognize him.  He felt like he should run but his feet seemed to be nailed to the floor and it was impossible for him to move.  As she started to speak, it was as if she was only speaking to him.  The words were only for him and they were not words of condemnation but comforting, forgiving, invitations of love from God himself. 

He heard the love story of how Jesus came and sacrificed His life so that everyone could be forgiven and have eternal life and a relationship with Jesus himself.  He remembered hearing similar messages like this before but it had never been for him.  Never like today by this woman from his past.  It was difficult to wait until she finished speaking before he ran into the arms of Jesus to beg for forgiveness.  The most important thing was to be forgiven by this Jesus.  She said He was willing to forgive no matter what one had done.  The tears were streaming down his face, tears he had not allowed himself to shed for years.  They came as a flood and after some time, he remembered craving to beg forgiveness and after that came the calmness and peace which defied understanding.  It seemed he only had to lie there and accept this love that surrounded him. Soon the angelic voices began to sing once more and the next few hours were a blur but he knew he would never be the same again.

Jenine came to him and related how she had been praying for him for several years.  It seemed she had spent time on probation after the company dissolved.  During this time she became a believer and spent her spare time giving her testimony to whoever would listen.

After spending time with the people at the mission he found himself thirsting for more of Jesus.  It seemed he could not get enough of Him.  He knew his sins were forgiven and the burdens of the past were gone!

After several weeks, he and Jenine became more than friends he knew that this was not coincidence.

 

One day, he felt compelled to look up his family. Jenine was by his side when an ageing white haired man opened the door.  There was no hesitation, the physical outstretched arms of love were once again around him and he knew he was exactly where he should be.  His Father’s reaction was, “ My Son, who was dead is alive again.”