“A house is made with walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” This is a famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It speaks of the difference between having a house from a home. A house is a physical place where we live, while a home is more of a place where we also live but where we are at peace with ourselves or with our families. A house can shelter us from wind and rain, but a home gives us warmth and provide sustenance for our weary souls.
A house can be big or small, luxurious or not. You may be living with your parents or with your wife or husband and children. However, no matter how much money you have, or wear fancy branded clothes, none of these are important in life. The biggest failure in a person’s life is not being financially poor but not having a loving home.
When passersby see homeless people begging on the street, most of them asked, “Why don’t they get a job?” In fact, they are oblivious to these people’s past. They may have had a happy home but may have forgotten how to go back or maybe never wanted to get back home. Years ago, in Taoyuan, people reported a 56-year-old homeless man who was suspected to be not in his right state of mind. He often caused trouble wherever he was and kept telling people that he had a bank account containing $72,765.00 (about ¥500,00).
According to reports, the 56-year-old homeless man in Taoyuan was suffering from a mental illness, and often caused trouble to passersby. He would chase kind-hearted people who helped him or provided him with supplies. The people nearby were alarmed by his disturbing behavior that they called for a social worker to escort him to a hospital.
At first, the homeless man did not say a word and just looked blankly at the social worker. However, many more visitations made the homeless man gradually respond, from closing his eyes to waving his hand to refuse. A few more visits and the homeless man no longer littered the supplies given to him by the social worker or passersby.
After the homeless man was brought to the hospital, the social worker soon learned that he told people about his bank account. However, his documents were gone, so he could not withdraw the money. The social worker thought, “Who would take his words seriously?” The social worker wanted to believe the homeless man and prove that he was telling the truth. He brought him to a post office to issue some official documents. The homeless man was restless at first, but when he and the social worker went to the bank, they were able to issue him a new passbook. When the homeless man opened his bank book, he only blankly stared at it. Seeking his consent, the social worker looked at the passbook. He was stunned to see $58,936.00 (about NT$1.8 million) in it!
Since then, the homeless man recalled some memories and remembered the contact number of his family at home. The social worker took the liberty to call any of his family members available at the time. Unexpectedly, it was his 85-year-old father who answered the phone. Excited, the man on the other end of the phone said, “My son is missing and has not been seen for a long time!”
The homeless man’s father recalled a poignant story and told the social worker what happened to him 6 years ago. “He lost $87,320.00 in cash, along with his other documents, after his bag was stolen. Now, it is not easy for him to finally meet a kind-hearted person because of what has happened. But we thank you for finding him.” When the homeless man started to recall his memories, he excitedly said, “I want to go home. I still have my father at home. Is that okay?” The social worker brought him home, and was welcomed back by his loving family.
Netizens who knew of his story were moved.
“How long has life been blank before he met a good person?”
“Thank you to the social worker for not giving up on him and believing in his words.”
“After a long swing, I can finally return to my warm home!” said the man who is no longer homeless.
It may have been years since the family welcomed back a family member who was lost. Fate has brought them back together. For some people, the social worker acted as a bridge between missing people who were meant to reunite again. Some people pray for miracles. However, there are angels among people who extend a helping hand in mundane ways.
Images credits: © Liberty Times Net
