MINISTRY FROM TWO POLES

RECOVERY

Children survive.
They seem to be built to survive almost anything.
The pain of loneliness, war, crime, rejection,
being ignored, being abused,
being smothered, being used,
predation, exposure,
abandonment, over-protection;
these are just some of the things kids endure.

But to do so requires they develop tools
– most of them facades
– fake faces.
It is these false countenances and big walls
that, as adults, keep distance between us.
They protect the “us” we can’t risk showing the world,
the one we forget exists as time moves on.
We show the safe “us”,
the one that can’t get hurt,
because it’s not real.

But hurt we do.
The shadowy void gets bigger and we become emptier.
But then, eventually, it dawns on us –
being an adult isn’t about being safe –
it’s about being real.
It’s about risk.
It’s about re-finding GOD.
Yes, eventually we realize –
if we can’t be honest with each other –
how can we trust anyone
– even GOD.

So eventually we learn to set aside our facades;
to show our soft underbellies
and face our pain and doubts;
to recognize our vulnerabilities
and strive to overcome them;
to look longingly for GOD and yearn for hope.
We find GOD has been there the whole time
– waiting for us.
We allow GOD to fill the void with joy.
Welcome back to being a child.
NOW we’re ready for GOD.
NOW we can survive anything because
Children survive.

Andy Little, 2001