{"id":4482,"date":"2015-12-01T07:47:06","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T12:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/?p=4482"},"modified":"2015-12-01T08:04:14","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T13:04:14","slug":"of-advent-and-new-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/2015\/12\/of-advent-and-new-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Advent And New Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"HOMELESS.tif\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This Advent, This New Beginning, Don\u2019t Be Afraid To Look Around And See The Very One For Whom You Are Waiting Right In Front Of You<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Does the sight of me make you uncomfortable?<\/p>\n

Do I remind you of something,<\/p>\n

Or perhaps, someone<\/em>,<\/p>\n

That you\u2019d rather not bring to mind?<\/p>\n

Does my very presence make you realize<\/p>\n

That our lives are dicey, sometimes.<\/p>\n

Or that you and I could easily trade places,<\/p>\n

At a moment\u2019s notice,<\/p>\n

Or maybe, with no notice at all?<\/p>\n

Is that why you take an extra long stride<\/p>\n

Stepping away from me?<\/p>\n

Or why you try so hard not to see me catch your eye?<\/p>\n

Or release the smells of the street on you?<\/p>\n

I know that there are a lot of others like me around,<\/p>\n

We slow you down. And I know that we scare you.<\/p>\n

I understand.<\/p>\n

But I want you to know that it\u2019s not<\/p>\n

Always about money.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, I just need to be seen.<\/p>\n

And heard. If only for a moment.<\/p>\n

And for you to realize that, yes,<\/p>\n

I am<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think that, really,<\/p>\n

I\u2019m all that much different<\/p>\n

From you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Peace<\/p>\n

Image Credit:\u00a0\u201cHOMELESS\u201d by Leroy Allen Skalstad \u2013 Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2015<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Advent, This New Beginning, Don\u2019t Be Afraid To Look Around And See The Very One For Whom You Are Waiting Right In Front Of You. Does the sight of me make you uncomfortable? Do I remind you of something, Or perhaps, someone, That you\u2019d rather not bring to mind? Does my very presence make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1976,"featured_media":4484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOf Advent And New Beginnings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This Advent, This New Beginning, Don't Be Afraid To Look Around And See The Very One For Whom You Are Waiting Right In Front Of You. 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