Crazy Horse: A Homeless Man

Taking a picture with Crazy Horse!  He's holding the poster.

Paris, my eldest daughter, asked me to write a post for the WOW Kids blog.

My pleasure. 

It's nice to stop every once and awhile and record some thoughts.So here are a couple things on my mind:

Last weekend we picked up a couple kids from Emma Wheeler and took them downtown for ice cream and a walk on the Walnut Street Bridge. As we were walking across the bridge Terrance shared with me that he and his mother ran into Crazy Horse one day while they were downtown. When Terrence saw him he told Crazy Horse hello.

Who is Crazy Horse?

That's exactly what Terrance's mother asked him.

"Who is that, Terrance?"

"He's a homeless man, " was his reply.

"How do you know him?" his mother asked.

"He's a friend of Ms. Akins."

Terrance told me that when he told her he was a friend of Paris' (kids call her Ms. Akins), she went over to Crazy Horse and gave him $10.

"And I didn't even know she would ever do anything like that!" he exclaimed.

I just love it that Terrance's mother showed love for someone that we love simply because she knows we love them. It makes me feel like we are truly a community, players who are all playing for the same team. A heart warmer, for sure.

The other thing I can't seem to get out of my mind is the gang violence Chattanooga is being infiltrated with. This is the thing that bothers me the most: We are the buckle of the Bible belt. Our statement of faith and our actions have not been lining up. We talk more than we walk. Too many kids right in our own back yards are what the Bible describes as "sheep without a shepherd", falling prey to whoever will take them in. 

That calls for compassion. It calls for action. It calls for the type of faith that goes beyond lip service to community service.

I am not trying to bash anyone here. Our family has just begun to get involved in inner city outreach to combat some of these problems. The thing is we, like many of you, always had a heart to do something but we simply didn't know what to do.

I will share with you something I have learned and I will offer it up as a challenge before you: Not one child that we have invited to church or anywhere else has ever told us no. They are willing to go. The question is are we willing to take them?

Kara Akins married Mr. Jack Stephen Akins III at age 18.  She is now the mother of six children, ages 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.  Her "7th child" is her niece, Cecily, who also lives with the family.  She has one boy in the bunch who is spoiled rotten.  Along with being a mom, she also volunteers extensively with Young America Ministries and is a speaker for the Be Still, Get Real team.