I never thought I would want to thank the person who burgled my apartment building. This summer, I wish I had.
It was a Saturday morning, and I awoke to a neighbour’s cry before the sun had fully risen.
From the exchange outside my apartment, I could tell someone had broken into our building. I sprung from my bed, threw open the door and asked if my neighbour wanted me to call the police. He did, and I called.
As we waited for the police, I discovered the “burglar” was an elderly woman who was homeless and seeking shelter. During the night, she had tried to break into some apartments on my floor.
Unsuccessful in finding a place to stay inside, she helped herself to some things from a common closet and decided to make her home on our roof — until she was found, that is.
As she left the building, I invited her to stay, offering to work with the police to help her find a shelter. She refused.
On a weekend when Chicago was reeling from seven murders and 41 people were wounded in shootings, an apartment break-in was hardly a priority.
By the time the police arrived, the woman had long left the building and vanished from sight.
The rest of the day, I felt rattled by the incident. As I calmed down, I realized I wasn’t shaken by the break-in; I was left with a shaken sense of justice.
Despite my understanding of homelessness, this encounter left me shocked once again at the fact that in one of the richest countries in the world, we still haven’t found a way to distribute resources to ensure all God’s people have their basic needs met.
I also found myself shaken in faith. As a Christian, could I have been more creative in my response to assist this woman? Continue reading
Image: NCR
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