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The War Cry | AUGUST 2014
He wondered if there might still
be somebody out there who cared
about him, a thought he had given
up long ago as he buried himself
deeper and deeper in Chicago's
street life and his drug addic-
tion. "I didn't really want to deal
with a lot of memories, you know,"
said Henry of his withdrawal from
society. He says he harbored resent-
ment over being abused as a child.
A trip down memory lane led to
a family argument, one of those
who-did-what-to-whom things. They
got past it. "We worked through some
rocky memories, and it all turned
out to be a beautiful moment," said
Henry. He said he's rediscovered
there's a "natural bond you get
from family you really can't get
nowhere else. It's like an empty spot
that was missing has been filled."
Just the same, Williams said he
now has two families: his biological
family and The Salvation Army.
His Virginia family is only too
happy to share him with the Salva-
tion Army folks that they credit with
turning his life around, but his sister
wanted to make sure he understood
something. "Guess what, we always
loved you, and we always cared
about you," she said. "I always want
you to know you are not by yourself."
I wonder how many other
people out there could benefit
from hearing those words.
Mr. Mark Brown writes a column for the
Chicago Sun�Times, where this story first
appeared. Used by permission.
Henry found himself trapped in
a highlight reel of his life --
until
the light popped through.
Captain Powers, who helped
rescue Henry from the streets,
celebrates his progress.
With the new edition of Words of Life,
The Salvation Army's daily devotional
Available at www.shop.salvationarmy.org
In the September through December edition,
Major Beverly Ivany explores the implications of
God's love in our world today. Guest writer Major
Kapela Ntoya from the Army's Mali Region leads
readers on a
The Spirit
Take
Time
"journey of holiness."
for