For the Love Of Jesus...

Heroine addicts, meth users, prostitutes, alcoholics, mentally ill.... who am I to judge?  As I start to hear the stories of why people are homeless I am left with 2 choices-  to judge or not to judge.  God is the only judge so it is an obvious but not always easy answer- to not judge.   But as the stories start to unravel I find it much easier to not judge.  One married couple that I was able to visit with shared that they had been together for more than 25 years.  The husband shot up with herroin with his dad since he was 11 or 12 and the wife was prostituted out as soon as she was a teenager.  They struggled with alcohol and admitted that they were homeless because of their alcoholism.  The question I asked myself was.... "Where would I be if I had the same upbringing?"  I was blessed with a middle class life style, hard working parents who loved me and supported me.  When I was a single parent with 3 small children- I had extended family to help us through as well as a strong faith in God.  I can not say what I would do if I had grown up in extreme poverty, or with addicted parents who did not care for me.  I do not know what I would do if I was an addict myself.  I can't say that I wouldn't choose to live in extreme conditions so that I could continue to feed my addiction.  God is the only one who gives me strength today to be who I am and to push through to tomorrow.  I choose to Love and not judge-  the way Jesus did for me.  I do not deserve salvation, but Jesus chose to die for my sins.  Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for my sins!!! Please help me to see people through Your eyes and to continue to grow in my compassion for them.  All my love forever-CCJones :0)