Being a vibrant mission is not just about caring for the homeless in our city, it's about serving our friends who support our ministry. One of the ways we do this is by sharing the wonderful things that are happening in our shelters to encourage and prepare our clients for re-entering society, with obtainable goals for self-sufficiency.
As you read the blogs written by our staff and guest bloggers, your heart will be touched by the stories about life in the shelters and the experiences of the men, women and children living in them. You will find ways to connect that meet your charitable ideals and many opportunities to deepen your involvement with Star of Hope Mission.
Hello! I am Wendi, a single mother of four beautiful daughters and one autistic son. When people ask me why I found myself and my daughters without a home to call our own, there is no direct answer that I can give them. It was just a symptom of a deeper problem. When my family showed up on the doorstep of Star of Hope at 3 a.m. after driving halfway across the country, I needed more than just a place to stay, I needed help. I thought that coming to Houston was allowing me to escape the pain of my past. However at the Star of Hope, I learned that I had to face my past head on in order to heal. Now with over four years of sobriety under my belt through a successful recovery plan, I have learned to use my past to propel me toward my future.
The Star of Hope is not just a place, the Star of Hope is “people” who love and care for my family; the people who nursed me back to health over the course of our 31 month stay. We moved out in July 2011, but my heart will never leave. There I found people who will forever be my family and a permanent part of my life. I am excited to share “the rest of the story” as well as a few select writings while I was a client.
I wrote this in a moment of awareness of how I let my failures consume me to the point to where I was utterly crushed. Sometimes it is only at this rock bottom point in life that the shock of life's pain and defeat is sufficient enough for one to wake up and realize that only Christ can give true restoration and forgiveness.
This poem came to me in minutes. Although like many of my poems, most everything is a symbol of things occurring in my life, I don't like to spend a lot of time translating. I like for people to come up with their own interpretations and relate it to things in their life that have them locked up. Many times the key to freedom is plain and simple "truth."
IT WAS ME
Staring at the hard cold floor
I became lost in it’s dullness
It was the loud clang of the bars
Closing shut
That startled me out of my daze
I stood up
Only glancing at myself in the mirror
Even in the dim light
The numbers on my shirt shocked me
As I walked to the bars
And looked out
I studied the guard walking away
It was me
Later I noticed the warden
Listening to the radio
Behind the glass
It was me
Outside in the yard
As I jogged around the patch of grass
The barbed wired fence
Was deafening to me
I looked up at the patrolman
In the tower
The one with the automatic weapon
And the binoculars
It was me
So shocked
I stopped
I sat down
And thought
As the reality of my incarceration
Began to dawn on me
I had to think some more
About what brought me here
My accusers…..
Family, friends, co-workers
But the one that had the most to accuse me of
Was me
I vaguely remembered the courtroom drama
It was a blur to me
But I distinctly remembered
The judge
Looked a lot like me
The jury members
Everyone
Was me
With a unanimous verdict
Of guilty
I started weeping as I remembered
My Defense Attorney
HE defended me
With everything HE could
HE had this deal
This plea bargain
That HE would pay my debt
To set me free
All I had to do was accept it
But I rejected it
And took condemnation instead
And now
I know
I must call my Defense Attorney
And put in my appeal
------
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by malachi819, 01-07-11
DIANA
There is a lady I have known
In a relationship that has grown
At the stop
Near Cullman and Scott
2 years I passed her way
Before I ever asked her name
“”””Diana”””””
Her eyes are remarkably blue
A kindness so true
Every day I am learning
Different things about her journey
I don’t mind that her hand is held out
I am not too proud
To have money for giving
That’s how she makes her living
I try to have some treat
To give her to eat
I can’t judge her
I’m just like her
And so are you
Reader,
So are you….
What words have you written
On your sign that is hidden?
In what secret areas
Do you lack in treasure?
And Where…
Oh where…
Is that corner place
That you stand to ask for GRACE
What kind of seed
Does your soul need?
_____
I used to see this lady on my way home from picking up my girls from SEARCH’s House of Tiny Treasures. It’s been a while since I have traveled there now that all of my girls are in school, but I still think about her from time to time and wonder if she is still there every day.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by malachi819, 03-23-11
This is my version of the famous "The Footprints in the Sand" poem.
THE STROLL
Strolling down memory lane
With the LORD
Is needful
During those moments of testing
I call on HIM
HE takes my hand
And together
We walk back through
The green pastures
The still waters
Recalling beautiful sunsets
Ocean shores
Unforgettable moments
When I knew
I was loved
I was kept
I was carried
HE gently RE-directs my gaze
Towards those infamous footprints
They were the strangest prints
For they don’t resemble
Anything close to human
They were heavy in the earth
Dragging deep lines across the sand
Every single step a struggle
From carrying a heavy load
And because of the shackles
That bound my feet and hands
The obvious trenches
Where I attempted to bury myself
Or the heavy imprints
Where I collapsed under the weight
Tearfully I look at HIS face
And
HE softly asks me this question?
Shall we continue my love?
Or
Would you prefer to go back?
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by malachi819, 02-23-11
Houston's Star of Hope Mission - Help for Families in Crisis
THE LONELY MAN
I saw him on the morning drive
Carefully studying him as I went by
This man sitting in the cold
At the intersection of the road
It wasn't his homelessness
I was stirred by his loneliness
His home, a shopping cart
His clothes tattered and torn apart
Not moving not saying a word
Just sitting there near the curb
Staring blankly ahead
As if already dead
A song called him a monument
God showing us evidence
That all is not well in the world
Later on with my little girl
He was still there
Same place, same stare
And my heart sank once more
I wished he had someone to love
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by malachi819, 01-22-11
Help Houston's Homeless with Star of Hope Mission -
Homeless Shelters Houston.
I saw him on the morning drive
Carefully studying him as I went by
This man sitting in the cold
At the intersection of the road
It wasn't his homelessness
I was stirred by his loneliness
His home, a shopping cart
His clothes tattered and torn apart
Not moving not saying a word
Just sitting there near the curb
Staring blankly ahead
As if already dead
A song called him a monument
God showing us evidence
That all is not well in the world
Later on with my little girl
He was still there
Same place, same stare
And my heart sank once more
I wished he had someone to love
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by malachi819, 01-22-11
Help Houston's Homeless with Star of Hope Mission -
Homeless Shelters Houston.
This writing has a deeper significance for me than just being an encounter with a mosquito. The scripture says that blood is the life of the body.
Child abuse (of all kinds) is a prevalent and horrifying common occurrence in our country. As a client at the Star of Hope, many nights I would sit up in my bed wide awake after some bad dream. I would look at my daughters sleeping peacefully and safely and it would be almost unreal to me. Just knowing that they wouldn't have to endure what I went through as a child would crush me completely. Many times I would cry uncontrollably out of gratitude. A few times, I called Michelle Alexander and Mr. Patrick in the middle of the night leaving them voice-mails just thanking them for letting me stay at the Star of Hope. I am not sure how much people realize that stolen innocence equals stolen life.
Again, thank you for your support of Star of Hope.
THE MOSQUITO
I would be forgetful
To not write about……
The Mosquito
Texas is infested with them
They linger above my doorpost at night
Waiting for the door to open
And a whole gang of them fly inside
Into the lighted room
I do my best
To hunt them down
And eliminate them
One by one
But some are crafty
Cunning in their hiding places
One night as I slept
A buzzing in my ear awoke me
I couldn’t find it
So I lay back down
But after a few minutes
I opened my eyes
And there it was
On my bedpost
Looking down on me from its perch
Watching me intently
For a few minutes
We had a face off
I was surprised and also fearful
At its boldness
It’s disbelief that it had the authority
To hunt me while I slept
I just looked at it
My daughter was already itching beside me
That made me angry
That meant it preyed upon her first
I tried to squash it
But it got away
And lighted upon the wall beside the bed
I watched it again
I was very still
When it thought I was asleep
It came for me again
But I got him by surprise
This whole scenario
May be insignificant to you
But it was a very valuable life lesson to me
No more should I be awakened
By late night predators
Hunting me while I sleep
They have no authority
The predator became the prey
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by malachi819, 06-13-11
Visit Star of Hope Mission
Two days I have endured
This tormenting spirit
The one that is too strong for me
The one that I have entertained for so long
I needed to get us out for a few minutes
A few snacks and hot chocolate in the warmth of the car
There was this beautiful choir singing to me through the radio
“I am standing…
In the need…
Of a blessing!”
And my thought was this,
God “is” the blessing
As I looked up through the front window of my car
From the parking lot
Through the wind and the trees
For the first time since it was erected
I really noticed the Cross
And its accompanying Star
It seemed especially beautiful in this very moment
As it shined so brightly in the dark of the night
It seemed to be speaking to me
And I knew I was still loved
And the Spirit of God spoke to me
Saying these words
“There is not one beyond my reach
And you,
My Beloved
Who are so close to my heart
I will never leave”
And today
I have learned faithfulness
What it means to really yearn
After the LORD
And to need HIS Word,
To long for HIS comfort
That no matter what temptation comes along
Nothing or no one can separate me from God’s love
Wendi Hay - written 11/25/10
Learn more about Star of Hope Mission - Christian Ministries Houston.
This tormenting spirit
The one that is too strong for me
The one that I have entertained for so long
I needed to get us out for a few minutes
A few snacks and hot chocolate in the warmth of the car
There was this beautiful choir singing to me through the radio
“I am standing…
In the need…
Of a blessing!”
And my thought was this,
God “is” the blessing
As I looked up through the front window of my car
From the parking lot
Through the wind and the trees
For the first time since it was erected
I really noticed the Cross
And its accompanying Star
It seemed especially beautiful in this very moment
As it shined so brightly in the dark of the night
It seemed to be speaking to me
And I knew I was still loved
And the Spirit of God spoke to me
Saying these words
“There is not one beyond my reach
And you,
My Beloved
Who are so close to my heart
I will never leave”
And today
I have learned faithfulness
What it means to really yearn
After the LORD
And to need HIS Word,
To long for HIS comfort
That no matter what temptation comes along
Nothing or no one can separate me from God’s love
Wendi Hay - written 11/25/10
Learn more about Star of Hope Mission - Christian Ministries Houston.
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