A Safe Haven
by Jacque Anderson, Kaio Member
Jimmy comes to the Ministry Center almost every day that it is open and talks with us for hours. We play card games and discuss everything from healthy diets to fitness workouts, music to movies, TV shows to books, and politics to theology. With Jimmy, there is never a quiet moment. I enjoy talking to him, diving into various topics, and researching the questions he asks.
Although I love these conversations, I often feel like I am not doing much to help Jimmy. He simply doesn’t need much support: he has a place to live and he takes care of himself, working out and eating healthy. He is in a much better place than many of our men. Often, our conversations don’t go much deeper than which workout burns the most fat or which animal head we would replace our own with if we had to choose.
I started to become a bit discouraged about this—feeling like I wasn’t having much of an impact. Until we had an unexpected conversation one day.
“I don’t like going to church sometimes. I get too emotional, and I don’t like to show emotion in front of people. People might think I’m faking it and judge me.”
“Why do you care so much about what people think, Jimmy?”
“I don’t know. I’m just really awkward with people and have trouble socializing. I don’t like small talk and trying to talk to new people.”
I was shocked by his words. Jimmy, the young man who talks from the minute he walks in to the minute he walks out, has trouble socializing and meeting new people.
“I love coming to Emmaus and having somewhere I know I can talk to people and be myself a couple times a week. This place is like a safe haven.”
I nodded. A safe haven. The times when we played card games and only talked about different healthy diets and books—the conversations in which I thought I was doing nothing to help him—were actually creating a safe space where Jimmy can be vulnerable. Where he can be himself. Where he can be seen, known, and loved: desires that lay upon every human heart.
Sometimes showing up is enough. Sometimes just taking the time to listen to a person and answer with thought, no matter what the topic, is what a person needs to stay strong and keep going. Showing up and caring is being the face of Christ, who knows, sees, and loves us.