Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will be glad and rejoice in it! Water was dripping off the roof when I looked out the window, but no rain that I could see, so it must have been from last night. We have overcast skies, but I admired a beautiful sunrise, and now the sun seems to have disappeared. Well, we are still cooler here than anyone else on the east coast!
I did a little shopping yesterday and visited the park, where lots of ibis were pecking their way along, not looking up. And mama duck is still on this street waddling along beside her ducklings. Sometimes they lead her and sometimes she leads them! When they settle down to rest for a minute, then she does also, but for the most part, they stick very close together. A lesson in family togetherness! God is good!
From the devotional book, Quiet Moments with God:
Be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another. Ephesians 4:32 KJV
"It's all right; sometimes I don't know why I do things either.
You are part of our group,and we support you." With that one
statement, the tension evaporated from the room, and other
teens expressed their support to Sara.
The setting was a community meeting of adolescents in a
mental health treatment facility . Sara suffered from chronic
schizophrenia , and she often did not comprehend her actions\or control them.
The previous evening, upon returning from a visit home, she
had promptly set a small fire in her bathroom that created
major problems for the unit, including an evacuation as well
as a canceling of evening activities.
The next morning the staff and patients met to work through the
problems of Sara's actions and the anger it created among the
other teens. For nearly an hour she sat mute in the group as
everyone tried to get her to explain. She would not meet anyone's eyes.
But when Sam, another patient, came across the room, knelt
down before her, looked up into her face, and expressed his
support for her, she responded. Sara how her mother became
angry with her and screamed at her, "Why don't you just stop
being schizophrenic?"
"I just wanted to die, that's why I started the fire," Sara said
in a barely audible voice.
Sam's willingness to forgive her in spite of this error in judgement
made it safe for Sara to share her heart with the group.
It is the "Sams" of this world who make us a community because
of their forgiveness and compassion. For as St. Francis of Assisi once
said , "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with
thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
