The invisible wounded

We all know who they are, don't we... The people in our lives that are hurting whether they show it or not. But then again, maybe we don't know who they are. There are those who seem to be okay, but the more we get to know them we find that there are some deep hurts and/or habits that they deal with daily.

Seems that we live in a culture, both church and secular that promotes the whole "just push through it" mentality. We seem so content to leave relationships at surface level and not get into the messiness of really living our lives together. I have to admit that it is easier to live a surface level life, but not near as rewarding. I meet seemingly normal people all the time, as we build friendship and vulnerability I find that the only thing "normal" about them is that we all hurt at some level in some way.

When was it that we started believing that Christians need to have it all together? When was it that it was a bad thing for churches to be filled with hypocrites, liars, sexaholics, alcoholics, workaholics, smokers, cussers, messed up people? A wise man once said that he came for the sick, not the healthy. So why doesn't the church embrace the sick? Why are we looking for people that are well to come and be among us? ...?????? Maybe because we are not a hospital anymore, we are a day spa. Come in , let us pamper you and massage your ego, then send you on out. Nothing changed, except you feel a bit better about yourself than you did. That will last a few days and then you need to go back in.

Not only are we not being a hospital for the sick, we are not helping the people in the day spa. Why do they need to come back every 3 days to have the same treatment??? Because they have an issue that they just want to have relived, not cured. Curing takes more pain, more effort, and more vulnerability; and we just don't "need" that.

I find that our student ministry is filled with hurting kids. We don't have a special formula, we have adults who are ok with kids not being ok. We don't get weird on them if they tell us they are cutting, drinking, doing drugs, having sex, lying, stealing, ... We want to walk through it with them. I believe that makes all the difference, being willing to work through the junk of life with them. It's not always fun, and there are definitely days i wonder why... but then i find out that a student who hated male contact is getting married and is happy and i love with a great guy, it's worth it. And when a student that struggled the whole time they were in the ministry calls me 2 years out out and says "I knew I could call you... what should I do?" it's worth it; and then there are a few that I am waiting on. To me there is no greater compliment than the 2am call when they say "I knew I could call you" or "I didn't know who else to call".

Students may be in and out of the ministry, as long as they always feel safe to come back, I am content to let the Lord work in their life. The tries to hard to fix people. We have this amazing pressure to get them saved and get them "perfect". I would much rather live my life with imperfect believers who are real about their daily struggles and their pains. I have little patience for the "perfect" "I don't have any problems" people.

God give us REAL people in REAL churches in REAL relationships, REALLY!!!! No more pretending, no more laws to live under, no more "church appropriate behavior"!!

Bring me your sick, lonely, depressed, hurting, forgotten and I will love them. God help me!!