There but for the grace...

That old saying "There but for the grace of God go I"... I was thinking of that today when I was driving home from work. I drive through a poor neighborhood, and feel so sorry for the bedraggled people I see out walking on the street, and the neighborhood sidewalks are cracked, houses are in poor condition, etc. etc.

But rather than "the grace of God", I was thinking "There but for the grace of having been lucky enough to be born in a good family that could afford to take care of me, and supported me, and was always there for me, go I"

What happened to the man that I saw today, walking along in mismatched dirty clothes, with dirty stringy hair? What happened to the woman I saw leaning into a car talking to the driver (in a rather suggestive outfit)? Did they not have supportive parents? Were their parents too poor to support them, to raise them to have self-esteem and have the financial backing to be able to send them to college? or at least to be able to give them a little bit of money to go to school?

Or did they all just make bad decisions, get hooked on drugs, etc. to end up where they are today? How are they going to be able to get out of their situations? Do they even want to?

It just bothers me so much. I know I am grateful for my life's circumstances, but I also think why was I so lucky and they weren't?