40 Crosses for 40 Days: 5th Cross - Lorenna's Cross

I'll never forget that morning. I was driving into work, and I stopped at a busy intersection, at the lights on an access road next to a major highway. Idly tapping my thumb on the steering wheel, waiting for the lights to change, I glanced over at the sidewalk up in front of me. A young, somewhat disheveled woman was standing at the corner holding two things - a sign and a cross.

The sign said, "Handmade crosses for sale; $20 each." The cross in her other hand was clearly handmade. Not homemade, mind you, because she was obviously an unhoused woman with no home to make them in.

On the ground next to her, propped up against random boxes and pieces of cardboard, were about 20 different crosses of various colors and sizes. The larger crosses were $20, the smaller crosses were $10. The lights changed and the car behind me honked. I drove by, turned the corner, and came back around. This time, I pulled off the road onto the grass nearby and I got out to talk to her.

She told me her name was Lorenna and that she had made each of the crosses around her. I was really quite astonished. Not only did I recognize the creativity and talent in each of her creations, but I was taken aback by the fact that she had been able to make them in the first place.

As someone who interacts with unhoused people on a fairly regular basis as part of my daily job at church, I knew the effort that had gone into making these crosses. Lorenna would have needed to save all her pennies for a while, and then go into a store to buy the tiles and wood. She likely went to the Restore nearby, the retail outlet for Habitat for Humanity, and picked up their odds and ends. Then, she sat down somewhere and made them all, designing, cutting and gluing everything together. Being able to string this sequence of events together is a real feat for someone in her position, as the typical homeless lifestyle works completely against being able to create and build anything.

The number one reason for homelessness is not usually drugs or alcohol abuse, or even mental illness. All that can come in later, but by far the biggest reason people end up on the streets is due to "traumatic life events." That's what our County Deputy calls it. Each year, we invite deputies from our county's sheriff's office to come and talk about homelessness to our youth group, and they are very careful to teach that. What are "traumatic life events?" Unemployment that lasts longer than three or four months. Fires that burned down a home that wasn't sufficiently insured. The death of a child. Unstable parents who invite violent people into your home. Divorce. I personally know more than a few people who ended up homeless - or nearly homeless - due to a nasty divorce. Life is not kind or pretty for some.

I didn't ask Lorenna what traumatic life event had happened to her. It was already clear that one had happened, and she didn't want to be defined by it. Instead, she wanted to be seen as someone who had value, who could take some of her talents and put her faith in God and be treated like a human. So, she pushed back against the circumstances of her life, and she made crosses that she sold on a city sidewalk.

I bought every one of her crosses and I put them into the Gift Shop at church, with a small sign that read "Handmade by Lorenna, an unhoused neighbor." (We sold them all in one weekend.) I gave Lorenna my card and invited her to come and talk with me at church, so that we could figure out a way for her to move forward. She teared up and holding the money said, "This is going to help so much."

I wish I could say this story had a happy ending, but the truth is, I don't know how it ends. I never saw Lorenna again, even though I make a point of driving by that intersection as often as I can. But I kept one of her crosses for my own house and I say a prayer for her each time I look at it, and for all those who carry the Cross of Homelessness. I hope she prays for me, as well. But mostly I hope that one day we'll meet again, in the House of Our Father, in that home where there is no more lack, no more "traumatic life events," and no more need to sell crosses on a city corner.

Let us pray. Holy Trinity, we pray for all those who carry the Cross of Homelessness. Be near them to comfort, protect and guide them, and help us to do our part in assisting them. And in all things, let us praise you. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Strawberry Vine - Cultivating A Catholic Imagination