The summer is here and the heat can be pretty unbearable at the best of times.
For the homeless, they feel this more than the rest of us.
As I write the article from the inside of a Barnes & Noble study location directly across from me is a very obvious homeless man that come to think of it I've seen begging for money on the streets of Orlando.
He's got his diet coke bottle full of water to stay hydrated and 2 really old copies of novels to read.
His clothing a little shabby and dirty but he does seem to have what appears to be a pair of glasses and a bag too that is also weathered.
As I type, he nods off as one would if they had not had adequate sleep in a while.
Why does he choose to come to Barnes & Noble? The A/C of course! A clean, cool environment with a pleasing atmosphere to boot! A place to nap perhaps or just catch up on his book out of the sun and smog of the city.
Where will he go next, another bookstore, a mall perhaps? These are likely places for such lost souls.
This similarly is the case in cold climates too.
Besides the obvious sewer grates that appear to provide warmth they also tend to linger in building entrances and mall waiting areas, bus shelters and the subway stations.
We must be thankful every day for what we have! We must be grateful for all the small things that we so often take for granted because it has always been available to us.
We never know when our life as we know it will be tossed upside down and thrown all around.
An air conditioned or heated home and car, a place to call home, certainty of where we'll lay our head down each night and the promise that there will always be a meal for us when we should become hungry-this is what we all require.
These are people just like us who have encountered a specific turn of events that have left them without a home, often a purpose or their next meal.
Pray for these individuals and thank the Lord for what you have been provided with-large or small!