I’m sharing a photo to illustrate a word each day in Lent. Today I have two words because I had major technical difficulty using WordPress and photos on my iPad. Today’s words are covenant and shelter.
Downtown Oxnard, Veteran’s Day 2014
Our city, like most others, has an event to honor our veterans each year on Veteran’s Day. Now that I live downtown I like to walk over to the park to watch and participate in honoring our nation’s heroes. This photo of the flag was taken in 2014. In the context of our veterans it’s a symbol of the covenant that our county has (or should have) with those who’ve served. Obviously the flag is a symbol of the freedom that we enjoy. But also shouldn’t it be a symbol of our solemn obligation to take care of those who served?
I don’t have a photo for shelter. Instead I have an example of our broken covenant with one of our veterans. I was in Chicago that last few days and spent lots of free time walking about the downtown area. There are many homeless in Chicago (as in all cities). Last night I had pizza and boxed up my leftovers so that I could give dinner to one of the homeless people that I would encounter along the way.
While walking to my hotel I came across a man in a wheelchair. He had a sign asking for help. I went up to him and first noticed that his fingers were so swollen that I don’t know how he was able to use his hands. I gave him the pizza. He looked up…ohh he has a young face… and he said thanks. He is a veteran. He has no shelter. Our covenant is broken. I cried on my way back to the hotel.
