MIracles

I’ve been working in the community mental health field now for over 4 years. I still remember where I was standing when I decided that I wanted to be a therapist. I had this overwhelming sense of purpose and meaning that presented itself in my career choice. I entered the field believing in the human spirit’s ability for change and growth. I did not consider, however, the impact it would have on me. My clients have, in a sense, become my Church - a gathering together of misfits and those forgotten. The coming together of those that are often cast aside, marginalized, and ridden with addiction and other mental health ailments in order to try to live life whole. I have often found the face of God in the homeless man that brings me a bowl of soup because he is worried that I might not be getting enough to eat. Or the man that has spent 20+ years in prison, and yet, still chooses to whisper words of grace and trust in me. Or the child that has been abused in every conceivable way reaching out and holding my hand as we walk. Those who choose to wake up everyday, work long hours (MUCH longer than me), and choose to give hope to their children, when they, themselves have had hope beaten out of them through abuse, trauma, or a biological chemistry that has isolated them from society. It never entered my mind, that these “lost souls” could so swiftly point me towards a deeper truth and hope than I could have claimed years before. They have graciously destroyed my “house of cards” concept of God in black and white print. Though painted with a thorough legal history, gang affiliated tattoos, and a sailor’s mouth, they have become my heroes. For slipping through their beaten down lives comes miracles in every form. They have become my constant reminders of my own frailty as a human, and simultaneously, the beauty that arises through seemingly pain-ridden circumstances. I have the utmost gratitude for these individuals. For they have become the faces of God in a seemingly hopeless world. They have become His constant miracles. And I have become a witness.