Several days ago, I was stumbling around Youtube and saw a video of a homeless man who, literally, had a golden voice. It had been posted that day and already had 100,000 views. The video had over 12 million views before Youtube pulled it. It was inspiring and also convicting to see such a disheveled man with such a talent. How many times have I ignored a person like this? How many people could I have helped that I just drove right by?
12 million views later, that disheveled man is on a whirlwind virtual publicity tour. He, in a matter of days, has gone from living in the streets to being on top of the world. He’ll never spend another night sleeping under a bridge again. He’ll never have to line up at a soup kitchen. So, does he give credit to Youtube for saving his life? Not really. This is a man who, despite being down and out, as down and out as you can be, found God. This was a man who had found joy, even after 10 years on the cold streets, because of the faith he found. He’s confident that he can handle the situation. He told Matt Lauer, “The difference between my successes of years gone by is that I didn’t acknowledge the Lord or thank him for anything before,” he told them. “This time around, I have God in my life, acknowledging him on a daily basis. I’ve found a new sense of spirituality now.”
Interviews with Ted had to be done remotely because he was unable to fly as he has no ID. He gets particularly emotion when talking about his faith and his mother at the end of this clip.
The original poster of the video on Youtube, summed it all up with the latest update to the story.
“My request to all. Whenever you run across a story such as this, don’t assume it’ll take a life of its own, on its own. It won’t. It can’t. There are too many other stories that drown out the one before it. You need to spend time to get that story and its word out to many. If you care, you’ll do it.
Keep the faith, pay forward and always lend a hand; even if you’re the one who needs it.
God bless Mr. Williams. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him for sometime to come.”