For about 8 months I had a homeless guy living in my yard, his name was Purple. I think I have a heart for the poor. That was challenged when a friend told me about Purple, and asked if I’d open up my yard to him. I said, “OK,” and After a few weeks Purple came to my door with his long knotted grey hair and beard. Introducing himself, we looked around the yard for where he could pitch his tent. Buried back in the pines we found a spot, and Purple and his dog (Bear) soon became landmates. When Purple first approached me he said that he wouldn’t be staying long because the end of the world was about to happen in a couple of weeks, and he was heading up to the Hopi reservation because that was apparently going to be the only place to escape the meteor that was about to crash into earth. So in view of mass destruction of the planet, I figured I should let him have a place to put his tent. A couple of weeks later the end of the world didn’t come, and he was as shocked as anyone. Rebounding from this craziness, Purple got a job at a nursery in town aiding with watering plants and loading trucks. I told Purple that as long as he had a job he could stay on the land. Soon the summer ended (with the job) and Purple said he’d be off the land soon. Months passed…he begged outside of the local Super Walmart, and continued to do so contently. Eventually I had to ask him to leave, because soon I was leaving, and I didn’t feel good about him being on land that wasn’t even mine to begin with. Purple ended up leaving with Bear and I hope he’s doing ok.

The reason I’m telling you this is because, for me, Purple is a hero. Not the kind of hero that zooms in to save the day, and not even because he taught me any objective nomadic wisdom. Purple is a hero because some days he would knock on my door and politely ask if he could use the shower, or even internet. Some days we would have some casual conversations about nothing more than the weather, or plants, or beliefs. Purple is one of my unnoticed heroes, but not because he taught me about faith, or living day to day, or about trust. Purple taught me that having a heart for the poor was not just giving them money, or a place to lay their head. Having a heart for the poor is opening your heart to them, to talk to them, and to not dismiss them. We live in a world where every class, including the poor, will try to take advantage of you, but I believe the Christian can stand out by reaching out. In a dog eat dog world, maybe it’s the Christian’s job to not be one of the dogs. Purple, thanks. I’m not perfect, I don’t love perfectly, but I pray that in your journeys God would lead you to Himself, and that through my attempts to love, you would see Jesus’ great love for you through our brief time together.