"They Trash"

Sometimes, in every neighborhood, you get folks that are really hard to understand. People that have come from such a different background than yourself that, try as you might, you don't 'get' them.

Money and Wanda are two such people. When we first met these two I thought that once they saw the 'light' and we called the police on them enough, they would change from their destructive ways and become upstanding citizens.

You see, Wanda and Money were very 'street'. Money worked fixing bikes all day. Both were hooked on drugs and Wanda would prostitute herself. I would call the police on her so many times! Sometimes, I would open my door and say "Ma'am, are you waiting for someone?" She'd sort of move on, but always came back. Finally, I had to double my efforts because she started hooking with her young child in the stroller. The idea is horrible. I would get so mad at her! (I mean, what kind of man has sex with a hooker in his car, while her child is in the stroller right there? She had takers though. No matter how dirty she was...)

I wasn't sure, but I thought that her child, a girl, was around our son's age at the time.

Wanda and Money bounced around the neighborhood and ended up renting across the street from us on the corner. It was a small apartment. Just one room.

It turns out that me and Victor bought the building while Money and Wanda were renters. It was a triplex. When Victor went into their apartment, he was disgusted. They lived in PILES of trash and clothing. Raw sewage was running from their toilet out their back door. Cockroaches were everywhere and their fridge had been turned off and had rotting food in it-Ugh.

Victor really took Money to task. He told him that if he ever found out that they were living like this again, he was going to call CPS. Their little girl deserved better. He told Money that it was his responsibility to provide a good home for both his wife and daughter.

M & W had to get their stuff together and move because we were going to fix up the building. Money was very resistant to this fact. It was probably because no one would rent a room to them. It was tough to get them to vacate. We had a friend come over to change the locks. Money stopped by and was being menacing-threatening to kill him. Our friend said that he was shaking while using his screwdriver.

We did have a chuckle over that because Money was all talk.

He was very looked down upon by everyone. Nobody had any respect for him at all.

He was the lowest of the low.

Once while talking to some of our more colorful neighbors we mentioned Money and Wanda and this neighbor said "Money and Wanda? They trash!"

I know that I agreed with them. In my heart, I agreed. As a woman of faith, this is hard to admit because this is an idea that scripture is dead set against. No one is trash in God's book.

Just because Money and Wanda never 'saw the light' doesn't mean that God had written them off.

"Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too rebellious and weak to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him." Romans 5:6-8

This is me also...the lowest of the low.

A few years later when our kids were in elementary school, I saw Wanda ride up on her bike with her daughter on the handlebars. She was dropping her daughter off at school. I found out that their daughter was actually in the GATE program (gifted and talented education).

I hope their daughter has grown up and used her intelligence to help her parents. I hope they have put their trust in the Savior too.