He is easy to ignore as he stares passersby in downtown Nashville. It is simple to dismiss him "homeless." 

   "The heart is the whole thing. We are only pieces." Rumi wrote. The 13th century Persian mystic wrote glorious poetry & not a verse of it is out of date. 

   We want our hearts to be dwelling places for God's Love. Reading Rumi is one way to open the gates. Helping those in need is another.

   Yet, the hardest people to touch with out love can sometimes be those closest to us. Caregivers are hemmed in by patients who are seen as needing diagnosis & treatment, not love & a listening ear.

   Longtime lovers may have fallen into habits of taking each other for granted. One day a tragic accident or a sudden illness mocks their folly by stealing the chance for more joy. 

   We want our hearts to be homes where love offers strength as well as comfort, kindness as well as companionship, warmth & safety as well as the affirmation of embrace. 

   The man on the street seems isolated from all of this. Once a baby, a small boy, a young man, perhaps a father, he is now the man on the street. Once hope lived in his heart.

   One of the "pieces" of God's love, this man gazes out from his smooth stone perch as if waiting – watching for someone who will never come. 

-Reverend Erie Chapman