Giving Life New “Meaning”

In this life, I’ve learned to redefine certain words after encountering life altering experiences. The word inspiration is the most impacted of these. Initially understood as the process of mental stimulation to do or feel something, normally in the creative space, my experiences have taught me this is at best incomplete. There’s another dimension to add to this: the experience of suffering producing burden.

My heart to resource and empower those in need is birthed from this kind of inspiration.

There are many good and caring people who don’t have the empathy to fully understand homelessness; to know what it’s like to endure the elements in any capacity with no guarantee of shelter. I’m not one of those people. At a young age of 22, for no other reason than pride, I found myself living in my car in the frost of one of the coldest winters in Hampton Roads. I was gifted space on some couches a few times, snuck into my church some nights to sleep having to sneak out if I woke up later than I needed. And shame was the ultimate catalyst of why this season didn’t end sooner.

The suggestion of mentor I adored and trusted to contact my family I loved set me on a course of shelter and perspective. I had to learn a lot lessons in making sure I was self sufficient, but the biggest takeaway I developed was this. I became burdened with doing whatever I could to ensure no one needed to experience what I had. I remain inspired to do so to this day.

This inspiration has had me running the first homeless shelter in the city of Norfolk, VA as well as a host of other winter shelter projects and myriad other things to come, for no other reason than all of His creation deserve a life in which they flourish.

Hypocritically, my hope is that my burden in action does inspire others to do the same and make a difference in the lives of the underserved. And with this I stay the course, knowing it didn’t have to be this way. Knowing I could still be the one needing the hand up. That it could happen to us all. That because it didn’t, we have the responsibility to enact His love by doing what we can to ensure those needing this help can and will receive it.

Here’s to burden. Here’s to inspiration. Here’s to impact, and change for the better.