Done Fishing

The city of Bellingham WA and Watcom county proved that a homeless man can work himself off the street and get a room for himself. During the last 4 months I've been working at a frozen storage company, where we processed, stored, and shipped mostly fish. They paid me a wage high enough to sustain a place to stay and pay my child support. I truly am grateful for the opportunity to do this type of work again. Ninety-nine percent of the time I am no longer considered for such a position. Employers back in my home state of Michigan have so many job candidates to chose from that I would not be considered for such a position. Getting back into some of my old bad habits and a failing right knee has made it necessary for me to move on. I plan on moving back to my home state. In the past 18 months or so, both my parents have developed serious medical conditions. I plan on going back and trying to help them with their daily needs and also once again try to find gainful employment. The poor economy and my often less than perfect work history will present very difficult challenges. If I don't pay my child support in Michigan I will more than likely end up in jail, so I go back with apprehension. A very good young social worker I met through the Hopehouse in Bellingham has worked on my behalf to provide transportation back to Michigan. I will have to leave a real nice bicycle behind. During the past few years I've been able to travel in all the lower 48 states, and bicycle in 44 of them. I've witnessed how my needs have been met by God through very compassionate people all over the country. I have so many wonderful experiences embedded in my memory and in my heart. I leave Bellingham looking at a beautiful city, not perfect, but not lacking opportunity and many people filled with compassionate hearts. I witnessed a lot of Christ here. When I ride my bike I am forced to rely on God in ways that when I am working I can not muster. For this reason and some poor choices on my part I am not where I would like to be spiritually, but God is faithful, He promises to be with us in our weakness, and I feel His peace and it gets stronger everyday. I will need his strength in the coming weeks, thank you so much for reading the blog, and may God have mercy on us all.