Ministry

About a month or so ago, a girl and her roommate came in to talk with me, told me how this girl needed to do some community service and asked if I could use her.   I said that I didn’t really need any ‘help’ as such, but rather, if she just wanted to come in and do artwork for fun, she was invited.   I found out that she loved art and would love to come just to hang out.  Well, I didn’t see her again until today.  She came in and we got to talking and totally connected!  It was awesome.  She’s 18, freshly out of the foster care system and living with a friend.  We talked for a couple hours and we had very similar stories in many ways, so I told her for sure come in on a regular basis, that this would be awesome art therapy for her.  Krystal came in and the two met and seemed to hit it off.  I was closing up, so I hustled everyone out the door and they walked off together.  I hope they become friends.  They both need that.

I’ve really been in prayer a lot about this place.  God obviously set me up here to do a ministry, not only with William, but on my own in a different way.  I think I’ve become a mentor, confidant, and an art therapist of some sort for several people already.  I researched art therapy (I left my books in the storage shed in Oregon, bummer, I could use them now) several years ago, and even did a talk one time at an educator’s conference on art and music therapy.  I can see how very instrumental both are to one’s healing and even continued well-being – it was for mine years ago, and even now it continues.  Anyway, God has really been speaking to me about becoming a better listener and just being available.  I can see how my traumatic past and my subsequent healing has helped many people, but my just being available to listen and to actually be empathetic – I can actually relate from personal experience on most issues.   God’s timing is so awesome, because I’ve been reading my devotionals and even though I am ‘late’ on them, God never is:

The Dove, Saturday, Aug. 4, Rom 8:37

Just as there is a condition known as “post-traumatic stress,” researchers are now talking about “post-traumatic growth.”  One line of thinking is that adversity can lead to growth.  Another is that the highest levels of growth cannot be achieved without adversity.  But adversity doesn’t automatically bring growth.  Much of the outcome depends on how you respond to adversity.  Ernest Hemingway wrote, “sooner or later, the world breaks everyone, and those who are broken are strongest in the broken places.”  Sometimes that’s true.  But sometimes people write beautiful things and believe them to be true – or hope they’re true – and yet they don’t help.  Hemingway himself had a brokenness that ended his life because the pain was too great.  On the other hand Joseph, who was betrayed by his family, falsely accused of rape and unjustly imprisoned, looked back and said, “God intended it all for good” (Gen. 50:20).  The key to post-traumatic growth is in seeing God in all things, drawing close to Him, trusting Him when you can’t understand the situation, and knowing He only has your best interest at heart.  When it comes to serving God there are two sides to the coin: success and suffering.  We like the first, and try to avoid the second.  But they’re both part of God’s plan.  God called Paul into the ministry saying, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:16).  But hard times didn’t make Paul doubt his faith, or the God he served:  “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

I couldn’t have said it better!  That is the biggest thing – how one responds to adversity!  I’ve always heard the phrase, “You can grow better, or bitter.”