All Things Being Equal...

...but they're not equal.

When people who are hurting so deeply from life's tragedies lash out, it is never good to assume that we are all the same. There are so many variables, between whether or not they were truly loved and protected as a child, who their friends were, who their friends are, the secrets they have had to carry, the joys, the disappointments. Every one unique. All things are never equal and I am constantly listening carefully to grasp the things that I would miss because of my own assumptions, my own filters, my own experiences.

"Put yourself in my shoes", we used to hear often. I don't remember when I last heard that phrase from another person, but it has been in my own mind often...reminding me that what people are longing for is connection, and the hope that is derived from being known and understood.

One man told us this evening that he is praying every day for a bed and a shower each night. He relies on God who, as he says, "provides for the birds, so He'll provide for me". A lady shared her struggle to find self respect. An older lady shared her dilemma over feeling 'blue' for the first time in her life (at age 82) and that she didn't know how to handle it because she had never felt it before. If I hadn't known her before, with her perpetual smile and cheerful disposition, I might not have believed it, but she truly had no experience with feeling blue! Bless!

If you can see that one little blade of grass with a drop of water on it; some people share stories that would paint this picture of 'standing alone' perfectly. For them, it seems, a truly dark, wet, cold, lonely world. And that is where we come in.

Each and every one unique. Every story worth the telling, worth the hearing. Every person worth loving.