“I’m Still Here”

As I watched the morning sun almost bashfully try to push through the clouds this morning I was filled with a spirit of gratitude.

Earlier this week William Lemons connected me with some of our old buddies from the streets of Southside Chicago. These were grade school buddies of my brother and I that I hadn’t spoken to in many moons.

We laughed, reminisced and shared our scars that life and the streets had tattooed us with.

We asked each other about our kids, grandkids and parents (most long transitioned).

We shared some health struggles that came from living in the “fast lane” and from simple aging. But what permeated the conversation was the fact “WE ARE STILL HERE”!

No small feat because most of our generation who embraced the streets as a merciless mistress died early deaths from chasing a nightmare disguised as a dream.

We ended our conversation with prayer celebrating that through all the suffering (most as a consequence of our own foolishness)...through the opioid pandemic that ravished our neighborhood, snuffing out the lives of a lot of our friends...through the enemies numerous attempts to kill us...WE ARE STILL HERE”!

Thank God Almighty!

#purpose#grateful