Snow fell again this morning. For middle-class outdoor enthusiasts, winter camping is an adventure. For those without permanent shelter, not so much adventure as one more factor in the ongoing challenge to survive.
Life in Tent City 3 is intense. Recently, we were informed that campers could count on only two meals this week. Most food doesn’t appear on a schedule. Supplies are less predictable in the weeks and months following holiday patterns of abundance and generosity.
Where will my child’s next meal come from? What’s tonight’s weather? What do the neighbors think of me? How will I cope with another move? Will I ever find permanent shelter? Lots of questions without easy answers. Life in Tent City 3 is intense.
The word “intensity” as used above implies stress. But that’s not the final word. A visit to Tent City 3 will find in TC3 residents–and neighbors who care–warmth, humor, patience and generosity. The best of our faith tradition point to these as signs of love.
Since the arrival of our TC3 neighbors early this year neighbors have gotten a closer glimpse of survival’s intensity, but many of us also have been graced to experience love’s intensity.
Love’s…in Tent City.
(For those interested in learning more, including what you can do to support Tent City 3, go to http://www.sharewheel.org/tent-city-3 )
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