We are privy to such cool stuff at the Chaplaincy. We see miracles. We see people lifted up by both God and earthly friends. We see tremendous suffering, sometimes people are just hanging on a tenuous thread so close to a complete breakdown. Sometimes we are what keeps them holding on. Sometimes dignity, respect and a kind word pull a person back from the edge long enough to fight for another day. I've had people ask me how God could allow such heartache, such misery. I'd like to share a poem I read in Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Why?
On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God, "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about it?" For a while God said nothing. That night He replied quite suddenly, "I certainly did do something about it. I made you."
~Author Unknown
In the January newsletter I wrote about Kae. Kae is Japanese, brought here by her abusive American husband who hid her immigration papers from her and hired a lawyer to keep her daughter from her. Here was a legal immigrant from Japan who spoke little English, did not understand what was happening to her but still loved her husband. She was on the street with no money, no identification of any kind and with no idea what to do as a woman in a strange country who suddenly finds herself homeless. Thank God she ended up in our office. I hugged her and wiped away her tears and promised her I'd do everything I could to help her. I called Matt, a caseworker in a neighboring agency, to assist. He helped her get a court hearing, he helped her get the assistance she needed that required advocacy, while I methodically worked at figuring out how to replace her immigration documentation. This process began in January 2011.
May of 2011: Kae has a job, an apartment, a bicycle, and shared custody of her daughter. She has her Permanent Resident Card. She has her Arizona ID. She has her Social Security Card. Kae is a courageous, strong woman and God put people in her path to guide her, to encourage her, to sometimes hold her hand, to navigate a difficult system. I'm so humbled to have been chosen by God to be part of that. So yes, the poem above resonates deeply with me, I hope it touches you as well. Help us help others; it is what God made mankind to do, to help each other, to reach out to those needing a helping hand.
www.azhomeless.org
Expect Miracles it says on our window. Yup. Everyday.
God Bless!
Why?
On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God, "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about it?" For a while God said nothing. That night He replied quite suddenly, "I certainly did do something about it. I made you."
~Author Unknown
In the January newsletter I wrote about Kae. Kae is Japanese, brought here by her abusive American husband who hid her immigration papers from her and hired a lawyer to keep her daughter from her. Here was a legal immigrant from Japan who spoke little English, did not understand what was happening to her but still loved her husband. She was on the street with no money, no identification of any kind and with no idea what to do as a woman in a strange country who suddenly finds herself homeless. Thank God she ended up in our office. I hugged her and wiped away her tears and promised her I'd do everything I could to help her. I called Matt, a caseworker in a neighboring agency, to assist. He helped her get a court hearing, he helped her get the assistance she needed that required advocacy, while I methodically worked at figuring out how to replace her immigration documentation. This process began in January 2011.
May of 2011: Kae has a job, an apartment, a bicycle, and shared custody of her daughter. She has her Permanent Resident Card. She has her Arizona ID. She has her Social Security Card. Kae is a courageous, strong woman and God put people in her path to guide her, to encourage her, to sometimes hold her hand, to navigate a difficult system. I'm so humbled to have been chosen by God to be part of that. So yes, the poem above resonates deeply with me, I hope it touches you as well. Help us help others; it is what God made mankind to do, to help each other, to reach out to those needing a helping hand.
www.azhomeless.org
Expect Miracles it says on our window. Yup. Everyday.
God Bless!
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