The Face of God

A few years ago, there was a television show I loved to watch each week. The concept was intriguing and thought provoking and each week, I felt I learned something (or at the least, had my thoughts pushed in new directions). The name of the show was “Joan of Arcadia”, a cute (?) take on Joan of Arc. The premise of the show was that God talked to this young teenage girl through the people she met in her daily life. Sometimes it was a bus driver, sometimes the janitor at her high school or a homeless teenage girl she met on the bus. Once it was even a little girl, who spoke clearly to Joan about whatever moral issue she was dealing with that week. God helped her to see who needed help, how to help them, or just how to sit up and notice other people. I loved the idea of God speaking through random human beings at random times about life.

In real life, working at Hope House has increased my faith exponentially and the giving I receive from my clients has helped me to understand a radical concept. Are you ready? Because sometimes I think my views are “radical” to some—anyway, here goes:

“I have met God face to face!”

Wow! Yes, I am still here—no lightening struck, I am not blind and God has not forsaken me (at least, He hasn’t told me He has!). Radical or not, this statement is perfectly true, both for me and for all of you. The truth is we meet God everyday in the faces of those we interact with (heck, we meet Him even when we don’t interact with someone---which is why we should all pay closer attention to each other, but that’s another blog). We are all part of the Body of Christ, we are all members of the family of mankind and we are all fellow travelers on this journey we call life. So let me introduce you to some of the faces God has shown to me:

·       A newborn baby girl, sweetly sleeping in her mother’s arms.

·       A 3 year old boy, peering around my office door, offering a “fist bump” and a grin.

·       A pregnant teenage girl, face showing both fear and wonder.

·       An exhausted young single mom, carrying one child and holding the other tightly by the hand.

·       A migrant worker, hands stained purple from the raspberries he was picking all week.

·       A homeless teenage boy with three tattoos and 4 piercings.

·       A bewildered middle aged father who has never not had a job—until now.

·       A mentally ill, confused and difficult young woman.

·       A grizzled, smoky smelling homeless vet, grateful for a hot cup of coffee and some dry socks.

·       An elderly widow, leaning heavily on her walker.

·       A young disabled man in a wheelchair, unable to communicate clearly to the world.

These are the faces of God I meet—all of them with one common trait—they are all God in disguise. How would you treat Him if He presented himself to you in need? Perhaps in a less than attractive body or personality? If we believe we are called to be Christ present to each other here on earth, where and with whom do you draw the line?

How many times have you met God today?

 

St. Peter is watching you.

On walks through the cemetery, or even our church garden, I often admire the beautiful statues erected in memory of a loved one. Angels seem to be a popular theme, and in our church garden is a beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother, in memory of a lovely woman I remember fondly.

If I would have a statue in my honor or on my grave, I would pick St. Peter. Why Peter, you might ask? The answer is simple, as simple as the man who loved Christ so much and trusted Him so much that he actually stepped out of a boat onto the water with Him! From what we know about the disciples, Peter was most often right out in front, asking questions, swinging swords and yes, denying Christ. However, I don’t believe any of the disciples loved our Lord more than Peter and I think Christ knew that when he put Peter in charge of His church. Jesus knew Peter would work hard, keep things and people together and lead with common sense and compassion. I identify with him because I see a lot of the same characteristics in the two of us: hard workers, hands on workers, passionate about what we do, speaking without always thinking first, and not always as patient as we should be.

So all of this is leading up to me speaking out without patience and with passion on a subject that has me a little riled up.

It recently came to my attention that some in our congregation are “uncomfortable” with the lines of people waiting outside our gym on the last Sunday of each month for a free Community Meal. While this meal has nothing to do with Hope House, I often see looks slanted towards our clients waiting in line on weekday mornings for diapers and clothing. Same looks, same attitude, same people. So here I go—St. Peter be with me!

Did these people go to the same Mass I did? Did they receive the Body of Christ? Of course they did. So why after receiving our Lord and His grace in one space, do they feel it is ok to be “uncomfortable” with other members of the Body of Christ waiting patiently for a free meal? The people in line are poor—they are not criminals, they are not gang members, they are not here to hurt anyone, they would appreciate a smile and a word of welcome. Does anyone think it is easy to stand in line for free food? Do any of you think most of them would rather be home cooking their own meal? These are your neighbors, part of our community, and human beings in this world of ours. Times are tough, or haven't you heard?

I would ask that you take a moment next time you see this line or when you see clients outside of Hope House and just say Hi and smile and make eye contact. You may find out how very nice “these people” are!

Don’t make me send St. Peter to lecture you!

In Service to Others.....

So the reading last Sunday was the often controversial verses from Ephesians 5. You know, the one that tells wives to be subservient to their husbands? Yes, I thought you’d heard of it.  All through the church, there were nudges and smirks, as usual.

But what does this verse really mean? It actually goes on to tell husbands to love their wives as Christ loves His church—and how much more loving can you get than that? In my humble opinion, this verse is all about how we as human beings and parts of the Body of Christ, should treat each other.

The clue is in the use of the word subservient. Looking up the actual meaning of this word led me to the following: “servile, useful as a means or an instrument”. St. Francis famously prayed “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.” We often ask Christ to make us His hands on earth—why? To serve each other as He serves us. The greatest witness we can give, the most important role model we can be and the best way to show Christ to others is to serve them! Our faith is all about service to others—without that service, we have an empty faith.

So what does that mean? It means we:

• Offer compassion and acceptance in all we do for others.

• Step outside our comfort zone to share with others.

• Sacrifice from our first fruits, not our leftovers.

• Always remember that those we serve are fellow members of the Body of Christ, fellow children of God.

• Realize that we are all a huge family and everyone is our brother or sister, deserving of our love.

Mother Theresa knew how to do this, and she is our hero!!

Homeless with Children

Sometimes I carry my clients’ home with me in my heart and on my mind. Today is one of those days. The afternoon started with a rush of people through our doors, as Fridays often do. It was standing room only, but one young woman stood hesitantly in front of me at the front desk with one toddler on her hip and one standing holding her hand. When I asked her what we could do for her, she said she wasn’t sure, but she needed a place to stay for her and her children, perhaps a hotel voucher. I explained that our limited resources did not allow for this kind of expenditure and started explaining where else she could try. As she tried to keep them back, tears started forming in her eyes and I could tell she was losing control in a crowded room full of strangers. We quickly took her and her children back to a quiet area to discuss her options and make some calls for her while she took some breaths and got her emotions back under control.

The problem is that the Agape House was full and another women’s shelter was not answering their phone; no agency had the wherewithal to buy her a hotel stay, and her family was not willing to take her in. As we sent her off to Agape to see if they could fit her in anyway, I felt so useless and helpless.

An hour later, a young man with his 3 year old daughter waited patiently in the waiting room for their turn. We were unsettled to learn he also needed a place for himself and his daughter. His situation was even worse, as there is no place in town that takes men and children.

I really dislike this continuing problem, and I regularly speak up about it at community group meetings when the problem of shelters comes up—we need more family shelter space! We need a place for emergency shelter for men, women and children to be together. Why is it that we have a men’s shelter, a women and children’s shelter and a battered women’s shelter, but no family shelter? While we are on the subject, what women’s shelter could turn away a woman and two toddlers? Surely you could find a corner or a couch for them to sleep on.

I usually don’t like to rant about public policy or community resources, but I cannot tell you how awful it is to look a young mother or father in the eye and tell them you have no idea where to send them for a place to get their children off the streets. They continue to live in your heart for quite awhile. What does it say about our society and our community when we have so little regard for families who need a little bit of help to make it through?

This kind of day brings home to me in a very personal way how blessed I am in this life, and makes me wish I had all the money in the world, because I would make sure families had a place to live!

Sometimes God just reaches down and slaps me upside the head. Now, if this statement makes you wince, stick with me and trust that I know what I’m talking about! He’s not making me wait until I see Him in the afterlife to keep me in line, He just keeps teaching me here on earth as I go along my very imperfect, human way.

So what prompted this slap, you may ask? Well, here, to my shame, is my story. Keep in mind that the first thing we do at Hope House before we open every day is pray for kindness, patience and compassion to shine from each of us (this is where I got in trouble).

So the story starts earlier last week, when “Tommy” came in to Hope House looking for help paying his rent to some friends who were letting him crash at their house. Tommy is a regular client, is usually homeless and often slightly inebriated when he visits us. Let’s just say he is one of our more challenging clients. When we explained we don’t help pay rent, he became very upset and yelled about how no one cares about him, etc., etc…….then he left after getting a bag of food.

The very next day, Tommy stopped in to let loose with a loud verbal outburst about how it is our fault he is homeless, and he hates the Catholic Church and us especially. After yelling this at me, he left the room and then came back in to ask for some clothing, which we of course gave him.

Flash forward to a busy Friday afternoon—lots of people at Hope House for assistance, so many that they were spilled out onto the lawn waiting their turns. We were doing double intake duties to keep up, so when I came out and saw Tommy’s name was next, I just sighed. It had been a long week with Tommy, and I was not in the mood for him at all. I called his name, looked around—no Tommy. Someone said he might be outside, so I went out and called again—no Tommy. I came back inside, smiling in relief that I didn’t have to deal with him again. Just then, someone said “there’s Tommy out there with his bike”. So I again went outside, hoping he was heading out and didn’t want to come in again. When I called out to him, I asked him if he still needed to check in. he immediately said yes and almost ran into the building, with me and my poor attitude following. Upon getting into the privacy of the intake room, Tommy told me he didn’t need anything, he just came by to tell me he was sorry for his behavior all week.

SLAP!! That sound you hear is God asking me if I really mean what I say when I pray each day, or am I just being a Pharisee. You see, it didn’t matter if I let Tommy or anyone else know how much I did not want to help him—what mattered was my inner impatience and lack of compassion for this fellow human being. What mattered was my commitment to Christ to treat each and every one of the parts of His body as I would treat Him.  This is the whole focus of Hope House, and it is what makes us special.

SLAP! That’s God saying “don’t make me stop this car!”

Rest in Peace, Don

It is with great sadness that I tell you all of the loss of another valued volunteer from Hope House. Don Anderson was confined to a wheelchair after 2 strokes left him partially paralyzed and with limited speech abilities. Don’s mind, however, was wonderfully active and curious and he loved being around people from all walks of life.

Don became our client several years ago, wheeling through the neighborhood in his motorized wheelchair on his way to visit us. We noticed he often came in asking for nothing but a cup of coffee and some cookies (Don LOVED his cookies!). So one day, I told him he was welcome anytime, and he didn’t need to be there to receive services. After that, he became a regular every Tuesday and sometimes more often. We made him an official volunteer about a year and a half ago, complete with his own nametag, which he prized.

Every Tuesday morning I would arrive at Hope House to find Don sitting in his chair by the back door ramp, usually smoking one last cigarette before coming in to work. He then would join me inside to get everything ready for opening: setting out the full coffee carafes, putting the cookie basket on the desk, refilling any sugar, creamer, stirrers, etc. that needed it. He would then motor around putting things on the shelves for me as I sorted them.

When we opened our doors, Don was the official greeter, making sure everyone knew to sign in and to help themselves to coffee and cookies. He loved to sit and watch the children play; listen to the men talking and the mothers sharing resources. If it got too crowded and noisy, he would leave a little early, but usually Don was there for the morning—reveling in his “job”.

Don’s wife, Dianne, stopped by today to tell me about his death. She thanked us for offering him a place to feel useful and needed in his final days. She said he loved to come to Hope House, and loved the people he worked with there.

We loved him, too—rest with God, sweet man.

Some needs are more than basic....

This week was a meeting week for me—lots of time spent explaining what Hope House does and how we do it. Somewhere in the middle of explaining it all to others, it became clearer to me. So here is my explanation of what we are, as well as my “ah-ha!” moment.

First, do you realize that Hope House is a social service agency unto itself? A very successful one at that—although we are always trying to work our way out of a job! So, in explaining that we are a “Basic Needs Provider” in our community, it became necessary to explain what a basic need is. In 1943, Abraham Maslow defined a pyramidal structure of human needs, with the most basic on the bottom of the pyramid. Hope House meets these needs from the bottom level:

1.      Food

      2.      Clothing
      3.      Hygienic assistance

Simple, right? It is simple looking at it that way; however, Hope House meets needs way further up the pyramid than this. From the safety level, we meet the need of resources. One more level up, we offer friendship and sense of belonging to a family community. Finally, at Hope House we offer respect, we encourage confidence and achievement and we attempt to boost self-esteem.

So back to my moment—who is to say which human need is the most important? Does it truly matter where on the pyramid you are working at any given time? Or is your most pressing need your most basic need today?

Within the first year of opening Hope House, we had a young homeless man arrive needing some food and clothing. The next time he came in, we remembered his name and greeted him with a smile. Within a couple of weeks, Michael was stopping by every day, usually just poking his head in and looking at us. When I asked him why he was doing this without receiving services, his response was: “I just need to hear someone say my name once in a while so that I know I am still here.”

Basic needs aren’t always tangible items.