Hosea Feed the Hungry

I posted yesterday about this weird place I've been in lately where people drive me absolutely batshit crazy for simply being the only thing they know how: Middle class Americans with middle class American problems. I'm working on getting outta that funk because I think it alienates good people who mean well but sometimes are too insulated in their suburban homes to really know pain and suffering.

So, today I heard the best story ever. Ever. About a bride whose wedding was cancelled and so she donated the reception to homeless children in Atlanta. I get chills typing that. This woman who had planned one of the most important days of her life only to have it called off, gave her day away to homeless kids. Now I don't know any of the gossipy details about who called it off and why. I don't know if she was pissed or heartbroken but I know that this woman, in her own suffering, blessed other people in a way that they never could have dreamed. I want to hug her. For a really really long time. I want to be the creeper who hugs just a leeeettle too long just like Fifi does to her friends. I want to dance in the streets whooping and hollering like a lunatic because this story makes my heart sing.

I found you the story here. And I also found the organization she donated to. It's called Hosea Feed the Hungry, just in case anyone who runs across this is from Atlanta.

Did you know 70% of Atlanta's homeless population are children? I need to say that again so it sinks in. Seventy percent of Atlanta's homeless population are kids. There goes your tired, old assumption that all homeless people are lazy bums who use their panhandled proceeds on cigarettes and booze. Wait, that was snarky and I'm supposed to be working on that. So anyway, the people who benefited from this fancy reception were children and their mamas.

The CEO of Hosea Feed the Hungry, Elisabeth Omilami, said the reception was such a wonderful learning experience for the children because they had never eaten a four course meal before and they now know about all of the etiquette involved. She said something else that resonated in my heart; she said "The children have learned that their beginning does not determine their destiny." Wow. I want to give this woman a creepy, too long hug. This story is turning me into the person no one wants to be caught in an embrace with. It makes me want to go back to Facebook and SHOUT IN CAPITAL LETTERS THAT MY HEART IS HAPPYHAPPYHAPPY.

I hope that my joy and the joy that was bestowed upon these babies spills over into your life too. Maybe if you're in ATL, you'll consider giving time, money or a cancelled event to Hosea Feed the Hungry. I'll leave you with another amazing quote from my new best friend, Elisabeth Omilami, even though she doesn't know it:  “Whenever our sense of self importance causes us to perceive ourselves as too big to do the little things, to care for people, and to right the wrongs done to those who are voiceless, it is a sign that we have lost our souls to something that will eventually destroy the humanity in us. It is a sign that we have lost the real meaning of life, of love, and the purpose for being.” 

Cue the ugly cry.