225

I have a friend who works in the public school system in our county, and this week, he had a conversation with a social worker and learned that there are 225 homeless children registered in the school system of our small, rural county. 225 children. And that's just the children who are registered in school. That doesn't count the children who aren't even registered in school (and thus getting at least 2 meals a day and a few hours out of the cold).

A cold spell is sweeping much of the country right now. When I was driving home tonight, the temperature on my car was 15 degrees. Many of the homeless shelters in the area are asking for extra blankets because of the cold. I can't imagine not having a home, even in the best of times, but in this bitter cold and snow, it's painful to think about.

Granted, this doesn't mean that 225 of these children are sleeping in the cold tonight. But it does mean that these 225 children aren't tracking snow through their own front door. They aren't cuddling with their mom and dad in their own bed, in their own room, reading a bedtime story.

Life's hard, but one think that I think of on a hard day, on a cold day, when my feet are wet and my ears are cold and my lips are chapped, is going home. I look forward to walking in my door, being greeted by the cat and swapping my wet shoes for my favorite fuzzy socks. I can't imagine not thinking of that. Wherever else you may go, whatever else you may do, it won't be home.

I can't imagine not being able to provide that for my child. Sleeping in a shelter, staying at a friend's house, crashing with family - it's not your home. It's not your child's bed. Maybe you've been able to hang on to a beloved stuffed animal, but fuzzy socks?

I don't know what to do about 225 children without homes. But I'm desperately concerned that we as a church, as the body of Christ, be aware of this and other problems and be prayerfully considering what we can do.

I'm slowly warming up in my warm apartment, with my fuzzy socks and my cat. But I can't stop thinking about 225 children who went through their day today without the thought of their own home to return to at the end of the day.