We have been working with a group of women that are transitioning out of homelessness. They come into the home as the are, with only one rule - no violence. All other issues can be worked on when they are in the house. This housing first approach is different than the typical shelters which require a person to get their act together before they can be housed.
So, you end up with some women that are fairly well bogged down in the quagmire of a life of dysfunction. They are so mired in their own stuff that our connection with them is tenuous. Keith had a vision where they were drowning inside a small fishbowl and he was standing outside banging on the class to get there attention and tell them how to get out, but they were so absorbed and emeshed in their quagmire that they barely sense your presence and cannot hear what you are saying. What do you do in a situation like this? You could boldly preach the gospel to them, but it might come with a truckload of manure. That is, they would be unable to attend to you message. They are so self-absorbed in thier own muck that they would be incapable of hearing your message of truth.
So you stop trying to rescue them. Instead, you place your hand on the glass and wait. Maybe they will notice and pull themselves enough out of their own quagmire to place their had on the opposite side to the glass up to yours. A connection.
3 comments:
As I consider their situation I struggle with how to help them. They are alone in a dark place and I wonder if my presence is really even relevant to them. I envision them in their earlier days, watching at that first temptation to sip with a straw only a taste of what now entangles them. The sip gives way to the cup, glass and gulp. They jump in bathing and swimming. But soon the enticement is gone. Now in my mind I see them suspended in an aquarium of thick water. I am on the outside wanting to help them. They look at me but can barely hear me. At times I see them gasp. I put my hand on the glass and they stare at it. I want them to touch where my hand is. I am praying that God will show me how to love them.
My boys are teenagers they are being handed straws. I pray for them.
Does God love those that do not respond to the call to a better way of living? I guess that question needs to be answered first.
Sure He loves them. Does he love deliver His love through Jesus followers?
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