Some of you, like Myra and I, walk early in the morning to get in some daily exercise. It is quiet at six in the morning, not many people out and about, often getting to see the sunrise. This morning was a little different. As Christy (my dog) and I made our second trip around the Selma Campus, I saw a little boy, dressed for school, standing by the side of the road watching me as I approached him. Christy was the attraction, not me.
I introduced Christy to Thomas, one of our new boys, about waist high to me. He knelt down to pat Christy and spoke to her, hesitant until he saw her wag her tail in a friendly way. Isn’t it amazing how a dog can be a great conversation starter! Thomas was all dressed for school and had just returned from placing the trash bag in the outdoor can, his morning chore this week.
As we drifted apart, he to his “home”, Christy and I to complete our morning exercise, Thomas turned to me and said, “Do you live here too?”
“Yes,” I replied, “in the house in the curve,” as I pointed toward my home.
How so fortunate we are that we can take for granted such things as where we live. Jesus told several unnamed persons he met on a road: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.” Later, He told some disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you…” Where? “In my Father’s house…”
We should never forget how blessed we are that Rev. S. P. West of the North Alabama Conference had a vision for a home for children who had none. Quickly joined by clergy of both Conferences, this Children’s Home has been a refuge for thousands of children like thomas. Some came from the streets or only lived in a “house” before coming to our “Home.”
Keeping God’s Children First,
Mike Galloway, President & CEO