John truly showed me how everyone on this Earth is alike. We all want our simple emotional needs to be fulfilled, whether it is having a conversation with someone, or truly connecting with someone. From the start, John came off as a gentle, charismatic, and peaceful. John was homeless, starving, dehydrated, and exhausted; yet, he opened up to me with no hesitation. I felt that, in a way, we fulfilled each other’s emotional needs. He showed me how someone unexpected can be one of the most influential people you will ever meet. John, in a sense, was not the “good person” most people would think because he is homeless, a former drug addict, and a criminal; however, John showed me he is a good person by revealing to me how much love can come from the situation he was in. As I think back prior to the street retreat, I can vividly remember me throwing on my sunglasses and turning up the radio whenever I saw a homeless person. John made me believe that everyone is the same deep down, craving human attention and love. This is a lesson I will never forget. John is and always will be a true inspiration to me.
The conversation about the rap song still sticks out to me the most. John showed how much of a pure soul he is. John wakes up everyday with a better attitude than I do about 90% of the time, and look at his situation. He made me truly appreciate what I have. Since the Street Retreat, I have attempted to mimic the attitude John shows everyday, waking up with a new appreciation of the life I am living. My alarm is now set to “Goodnight” by Kanye West; the song which John pulled out his life motto from. From this day on, John will always live in my soul, in the sense of waking up with appreciation of the world and the value of each human life.
The theological concept that stuck out to me from talking to John was the true importance of human dignity. Many people including myself disregard the fact that every human is truly human, no matter if you are living on the streets or in a nice home. Human life is a sacred gift from God that we all take for granted. John showed me that we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Every human has the desire of human interaction and for their voice to be heard. It hurts me to think that countless of homeless people hold such vibrant, searching souls and are ignored. We, as humans, are united through the image and likeness of God and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. From this, I drive myself to treat every person as if they are actually a person.
“See what love the Father has for us, that we should be called Children of God.”
1 John 3: 1-2
–Matthew Melvin, 9/24/18
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