At ABCS, we not only look for qualified candidates who will succeed professionally, but we are also committed to finding people who have a true passion for caring for clients while spreading the gospel. This passion doesn’t just appear; it can only be found in Jesus. No matter what role someone fills at ABCS, it is important that they have the Holy Spirit guiding them in every interaction. Parent aides at ABCS have a particularly challenging job. They drive for hours every week so clients can see their children in a safe environment. They enter situations that range from less than ideal to extremely fraught with conflict. Ultimately, their job is to show the love of Jesus to the people we serve, and guide them towards the hope and truth of the gospel. This photo was taken by a parent aide on her way home from a long day on the road. During that drive, she meditated on how God’s grace is sufficient and offered freely to everyone.
Grace.
I worked late tonight. I returned my client back to their home at 7:15 PM and began the hour-plus drive home. I’m not sure if it was the wide-open highway, the sunset or simply a sense of quiet solitude that caused me to reflect.
My client this evening was beating herself up over her life choices, her mistakes and the subsequent fallout. While diligently working on all that is currently required of her, she expressed such overwhelming frustration and despair that forward progress and positive conclusion seemed unattainable. Much like when we have weight to lose, the total sum seems daunting until we break it down into smaller, achievable goals which ultimately bring us to our long-term desire. Her lingering thoughts were that her mistakes were so egregious that she was unworthy of repair.
In Christian teachings, grace is God’s gift of love, mercy and salvation given to people who do not earn or deserve it.
That would include me.
I wanted her to know that simply by way of my seat on the other side of the table did not elevate my status, nor did it diminish hers. And that had my community not stepped up to guide and mentor me some 40 years ago, I would still be that 20-something young girl, in a hotel, begging for fish rather than learning to fish. So, we devised a plan for her to learn how to fish, breaking down her expected and overlapping requirements one step at a time into smaller achievable blocks.
You don’t know what you don’t know.
And sometimes you can’t see what everyone else swears is right before you. Often, it takes the clear vision of those who have walked a mile before us to help another find their way.
But that way requires grace. You may not recall who, when or how it was given to you, but large or small, it was.
Pay it forward.