One morning I stopped and talked to a young homeless woman in downtown Denver. She told me she had a drug addiction and had lived on the streets for a year. She had been abused and raped many times. The streets are unforgiving, especially for a young woman. Her name was Jessica (not her real name.) I asked her to take off her sunglasses so I could see her eyes. They were full of tears. Her long blond hair and clothes had clearly not been washed for a long time. She was pushing a grocery cart with all of her possessions.
My mother’s heart went out to her. I called her “Sweetheart” and hugged her twice and kissed her forehead. I told her she was beautiful and intelligent (she was) that God loved her and she mustn’t give up. She wept most of the time we talked. I also told her she needed to shelve her pride and rebellion, get help, and obey the rules of a shelter and its staff for as long as necessary to turn her life around. She knew she needed rehab. I also urged her to call her mother, whom she knew was worried sick about her, and maybe go home to Illinois to enter a rehab there. I gave her money, even though she didn’t ask for it. Hopefully, she would use it to buy food.
Jessica had a tattoo on her arm: When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. (Sir ChinmoyGhose) The world is dying and we are running out of time. We need to reach out and love others. God will use any of us as He wills, if we remain willing.
That afternoon I was helping a friend at a floral symposium and afterwards she had some extra flowers. I asked if I could take them and went down 16th Street and gave them to homeless people. Three women were in wheelchairs. They seemed to appreciate them. One young man took three and promptly gave two away. On the way back to my car, I saw several police officers and paramedics gathered around someone who was acting wild, probably high. They were trying to put her in an ambulance. The woman had long blond hair. I couldn’t get close enough to see if it was Jessica. I hope it was. Maybe those authorities would give her yet another opportunity to get the help that she needs.