Friday, January 7, 2011

When there are no words

Pain. How do you deal with it on a daily unrelenting basis?


Right now, I have a friend who, in about one week, has been raped, had a close cousin die, discovered her boyfriend was cheating on her, was evicted from her place, and felt forced to give up her parental rights. She grew up with people making bad choices that hurt her deeply and she turned to alcohol. Not long ago she turned to Jesus and was trying to live a straight life. But her daughter was temporarily staying with someone else and that person molested her. This hurt my friend all over again and her life spiraled downward.

There are no easy fixes for problems like this. Selawik is a place dealing with constant tragedy. There have been four deaths (cancer, suicide, old age, heart attack) and a home burned to the ground since early November. This is in addition to the usual daily conflicts.

I do believe that Jesus is the answer, but that sounds like just a cliche when you don't trust anyone and feel no one really cares. It takes a lot of work to believe, to change, and to stick with it when you are surrounded by those who don't and won't.

Our job is come alongside people who are hurting and just care for them as Jesus did. We need to hold them up as best we can without encouraging destructive habits. Then when they are ready and able to trust and change, we will be able to help them. It doesn't matter how many times they fall, every step they take with Jesus will be there as a memory of what life can really be.

Verity

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