Tread lightly, tread gently, my Christian friends.
You never know what brokenness that might have been.
It takes doing, saying a thousand good things
To make one bad experience seem okay. -Christine McDonald
I share this to remind you that helping hurting individuals isn’t an easy or fast process. Prepare your heart, mind, and actions so you can avoid creating a co–dependent relationship. You want to encourage the individual to identify their own emotions, problem solve on their own, learn new responses, and recover a healthy normal. Oftentimes, they have disassociated from their own emotions and thoughts for so long that they don’t know their own feelings. They may have been a slave to someone else for so long that they don’t know how to think for themselves or problem solve constructively. They may have mastered responses to manage each situation, be it good or bad, but those responses were mastered for others, not themselves.
We can’t be their rescuers. But we can be agents of God’s reconciliation and agents of human flourishing. Our aim should be to help them flourish and grow, to be strong individuals who are able to make choices on their own when they need to, who find their own voice and place in the world, who learn to trust their own abilities, and who experience wholeness as the beings God created them to be.
Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
https://iwillriseproject.com/
“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald
