Community of Support

Each week of the 40 days of Community challenge has a theme to go along with it. This week the theme is being a community of support. Megan over at Sorta Crunchy has posted 3 great questions that I think are healthy to answer.... (Note to the reader: the topic I discuss in 2 and 3 is all that's been on my mind the last few days, and I have other thoughts in the conversation of support that I'd like to unearth at another time too)

1. When have I needed support the most? How can I draw on that experience to motivate the support I give to others?


For me, the time I needed the most support was when I was overwhelmingly depressed at a place I was working at where I had a very condescending and discouraging supervisor and an intense work load. I saw no way out and cried every morning before work for a solid 6 months. (I only worked there for a year, but it was the hardest year of my life....because did I mention I moved to a new town away from my family and got married during this year? Yeah....) (Oh, and eventually I did quit there and am much happier now!)

Luckily though, my husband and I work at a church (and would be highly involved in one even if we were not on staff) and he leads a young adult bible study (ages 18 - 35). This group of 7-9 people...they were my legs when I could not walk (not literally...), a hug when all I could do was cry...they were my support.

The way our bible study works is that about 75 percent of our time together is support time. We spend the beginning of our meetings talking about how our week has been. And we all just listen to each other. When we get all the way around the circle, we pray and spend the last moments talking about whatever book or bible passage we had decided on for that period. And let me tell you...that time, once a week, was the only good I saw for a long time. Just to SPEAK what was hurting me so much, was a blessing.

When giving support to others...we need to listen. Not only listen TO what they are saying, but WHAT they are saying through their words. Only then can you really be effective at supporting them.

2) What are the needs I see around me?

I want to write about a particular situation that has really been on my heart. I work as a sub in a preschool and I absolutely love the time I get to spend there. Children are my joy and light in this life, and they are so special to me! This week we got some new children who are foster kids and have been moved around quite a bit. I gotta tell you...they break my heart. They have been hurt so badly before, that there are so many insecurities and triggers for them.

There are so obvious behavioral issues with them, and understandably so, but today, when I told one of the kids that I needed to put them in "time out" (pretty common language for that preschool) she flipped out cowering and crying "no no no!" My heart TORE TO PIECES. What has that word meant for this little girl before? I got down on my knees to meet her eyes and said "I am not mad at you, this is not a bad time out. We are just going to sit here so we can talk about how to make good choices." I paused, holding her hands and asked her "Have you had scary time out's before?" She nodded. "I promise you, I will never, ever put you in a bad scary time out."


3) What is the simplest thing I can do?

Support for this child...the simplest thing I could do...is showing her the world as it is suppose to be, how people are suppose to be treated and loving her with all I have in those few hours a day I am spending with her. To let her know that she is special.

This post feels so heavy...but I needed to write it. What wonderful joy though, to remember that God calls us to LOVE deeply and bring God's kingdom to all we come into contact with - to show them the world as it was created to be.