Paw Over My Life

The Grand Rapids Times
7/30/2009
Adult's Walk
Marcel Gamble

While I was walking this week I ran into a very unique individual that said, “let me tell you the story of my life.”
For some reason I gave this guy my undivided attention as he projected his story with calm hand gestures.
He said, “I was born in the streets; and while I was growing up, the streets were all I knew.
He said, “My two brothers were always my providers and guardians.I have lived a rough life and have lived in many ghettos across the United States. I have seen things with my eyes that others would go blind from seeing with theirs. My life has unquestionably been a roller costar but I am still here at the age of 20.”
Although this guy is Caucasian and taller than I am, I saw a reflection of myself in another light.
While he continued with his story, I thanked God for saving me when He did.
The man went on to say, “In the streets I watched one of my brother’s die from being shot to death, and I watched the other get his throat slit over drugs.”
Personally, I have seen others get stabbed before and have heard about others being shot; but for some reason, my stomach caved in when this man told me that he watched the only family he had die as they were murdered.
As I closed my eyes in shame the man continued with his story.
He said, “I was left to fend for myself in the streets and that’s what I did.I got a hold of some drugs and I began to sell. Money was coming but my curiosity began to grow about why so many people wanted the drugs that I had.”
He continued, “So one day I decided to try my own product, and I regret it till this day. The day I sampled my drugs was the day I became an addict. I started just by sampling a little bit a day then a little bit turned into large amounts three times a day.”
His life changed drastically.
“After I began using my own product I was unable to make money. As a lonely and unprotected teenager in the most dangerous streets I found shelter under a bridge. I lived day by day searching for food, and looking for little jobs to support my addiction.”
I thought about this man as my reflection again and realized that I have been blessed.
I have been blessed to know both, and have relationships with my biological parents.
I have been blessed to have a home to go to everyday.
I have been blessed to have money for things that I need and a majority of the time for things that I want.
Then I began to wonder. This man and I were both born into ghetto environments. Why has God directed us to go into two different directions?
I asked the man the question and he told me, “Wait because God hasn’t placed us in two different directions, let me finish the story.”
He went on to say, “As I was living life under that bridge one night, I got a visitor that wouldn’t go away. I tried my best to scare the visitor away; but it didn’t work, this cat was stubborn. I woke up the next morning and the cat was still lying next to me and I realized that this cat was just like me. He was lonely, with no family, and no place to go. So I decided that I was going to be family to the cat. However, there was one problem. Because I used money from the odd jobs that I did to support my addiction, I didn’t have any money to provide necessities for the cat. So that day for my new family I had to make a decision —to continue to be a drug addict or support my family. I decided to support my family and right then and there I dropped the drugs because I knew my family had to eat.”
At this moment in the story I thought to myself, this man is right. God never did send us down different directions, He gave us the same routes He just let us decide on which one to take.
The man went on to tell me that he and his family progressed in life the next couple of years.
He said, “With my family, I became a fully recovered drug addict. With my family, I was able to find my fiancé. My cat helped me begin a family of my own. Sadly, shortly after I got back on my two feet, my family was hit by a truck and died instantly. Because of my family I was able to turn my life around.”
When the man finished his story, I took a long hard sigh and I pondered on the thought of Jesus and how He sacrificed His life for us to live.
I wonder if Jesus was in the form of the cat the night when He found the cold boy under the bridge.
This week’s column is dedicated to Kevin.
Words of wisdom for the week: “Never under estimate the power of God when He wants to reach out to you He will in any shape or form.”