Child of God

Child of God. I love that term. I think that a lot of people mistake child of god, as a model, an ideal. Something that reflects all that is good about the world. I know that others interpret a child of god, along the lines of the metaphor, "God protects drunks and fools".

It occurs to me in my line of work that in some capacity we are all children of god. However, when I see some of the dishevelled lost masses of broken-ness, who cannot control themselves or their lives to the extent that they lose everything and all that they love for a controlled substance; or have simply fallen victim to some genetic fuse which popped at the height of college leaving them lost scared and confused. Imagine having the world by the balls, only to be kicked in your own balls and left in an emergency room at 2:00 A.M. knowing little but that you can't stand the voices in your held telling you bad things about yourself and those around you. Bad scary things. Coming from what you think is either you, or inside or nearby you. Or worse perhaps you have this need to understand some untold epiphany that defies logic to everyone but you.

Then at 2:3o a.m. someone walks in to your dimly lit personal hell, and condescendingly starts to ask you questions, with an undertone of, "how dare you have a psychotic break on my watch". "You had to meet Jesus at Denny's, just before the kick-off of my teams favorite game".

Imagine again at this point you still don't know which end is up, while this person is talking to you in what amounts to Chinese, treating you like you are stupid. Your not stupid, your lost; and all you want is a log, a scrap, something to float hope on in this sea of bizarre in which you have suddenly been tossed.

This is where empathy is needed. This is where a simply tool of love and understanding comes in and translates; saying nothing complex, simply, "I am here, and I hear you". Because mired in the net and wreckage that your life has suddenly or for sometime been, you can only but hear or understand the undertone of support or love. It gives you a sense of calm. If only for a split second, you are not alone. Calm, sweat sweat calm. Just a glimmer.

Having presence and empathy isn't learned. You won't find it in a textbook. It's not in a seminar.

However, God willing if you can convey it to the drowning soul that needs it; if one would but for a minute take a moment to feel, and be present. To cast aside frustrations, the desensitization brought about by the never-ending sea of brokenness. The fear that you have missed something better at the expense of this drowning child of god; then you truly are a child of god yourself, equally pathetic, more so lost than the twisted wreckage that lies before you.

I will leave you with this final irony. Many is the time that the patient in seeing the selfishness of the caregiver, not only sees but feels empathy for the truly lost soul looking down upon them.

And I think he said, don't quote me, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do".