So....I have a new job! AND I LOVE IT!!!! Which is why I haven't posted ANYTHING in two months! Sack cloth and ashes...sorry, sorry, I'm so very sorry!!!! Wife and mother are still my full time gig, but two months ago, I started working at our local crisis pregnancy clinic. AND I LOVE IT!!!! I said that, already, but that's okay...because I REALLY do love it! My job description says "ministry assistant" and the position vacated was "client services director." So, receptionist...administrative assistant...manager of client files...comic relief. I'm living out my childhood fantasies about the glamorous life of a secretary. In my head, I look like this....
The paperwork that's involved...remember when someone said that the use of computers would eliminate all the paperwork (HA)...is the easy part of my job. The hard part is remembering that every word that comes out of my mouth carries great significance. For your consideration:
Proverbs 18:21 (The Message) "Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit...you choose."
Interacting with our clientele...that often proves difficult. Crisis pregnancy...unplanned, sometimes unwanted. Girls who are too young. Girls who've never been properly "mothered", so they have NO idea what good parenting entails. Young women who carry SUCH brokenness and desperation around in their souls. Young women who have first hand experience with the evil of this world. Women who have no idea how they will provide for this new baby...making ends meet is just a dream. Some of them are SO battered and beaten by Life's relentless, bare knuckled punches that they come off as either apathetic or to the other extreme, hostile. In truth, they can't take any more hurt. They can smell insincerity and pretense at fifty paces. Since my face or my voice are sometimes the first contact they have with us, what I say and how I say it could literally mean the difference in a choice between life and death. No pressure, right???
We are in the business of affirming the value and sanctity of human life and sometimes, that starts with making "our girls" understand that THEIR lives are important...no matter how bruised or damaged. If we can do that, convincing them of how beautiful their babies' lives are is much easier. We aren't in the business of judging. Some of you may find that hard to believe, but it's true. We see all walks of life...all manner of humanity...all created in the image of Creator God Almighty, by Creator God Almighty. Remembering that helps me remember that I am no better, no more valuable than any one of our clients. In fact, I am daily confronted with the undeniable truth that if not for God's unsearchable grace (and Sharon's flip-flop), my life would be so very different.
We keep a count of the decisions for life and it's pretty cool to add to that total. When I look at the number, my imagination always tacks a (+1) to the end of it. We have a long standing policy for keeping things real around The Chronicles: that (+1) is my life. This place saved my life. The return to life in SMALLtown hasn't been easy for me. The Boyos...Mr. Snark...have bounced with such beauty, a Super Bouncy Ball would be jealous. My bounce...not so much. I felt lost, alone, lonely, so very homesick for a sense of belonging. I had reason to go back to The Bamaham on more than one occasion, but didn't....(being real, don't judge) because I was afraid I wouldn't come back to Georgia. "Sorry honey...sorry kids....Mama's going to live in 'Bama....it's just easier for my ego." Mother-of-The-Year, in spades! Then, I started volunteering at the clinic, in March, and got hired in August....and I found my feet...and I recognized the person looking back at me from the mirror. I found sisters I didn't know I had in my co-workers and our volunteers. Their words, their friendships brought me back to life.
Funny how things work, isn't it? You walk into a situation hoping to be a blessing and you find yourself as the one being blessed.
Comments
Post a Comment