This week a construction crew started to work on the basement in our facility. They are renovating it so that we can have our Day Shelter for homeless women there, in addtion to some other expanded programming.
Yesterday, they brought in some equipment to cut a huge pathway of concrete out to accomodate for plumbing. They quickly ran into a problem. One of the men told our staff, "It's true they don't make 'em like they used to. The floor of this house is much thicker than it is in newer buildings." Apparently, the equipment couldn't cut through it and they had to modify it before they could make any progress.
It made me smile, as God reminded me of our real "foundation," back when Safe Harbor was just a dream for me. The co-founder and I spent over eighteen months, 2 hours each Sunday, just praying for the birthing of this ministry. That's it. Praying a lot, and then planning just a little - as we had God's direction.
Five years later, a big part of that dream has come true with our residential facility and now a larger, better place for the Day Shelter. We are definitely experiencing growing pains - like a colt whose long, spindly legs are not quite adequate to support her inbred passion to run like the wind. Our support is growing quickly, but not quite at the pace of our needs. It has been scarey at times (even though I know I don't sound "spiritual" to admit that). But yesterday's "foundation" experience has given me new strength and a renewed vision from a renewed assurance that what God has begun, He will surely finish.
If that wasn't enough, in my inbox today was a quote from Andrew Murray: "Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation."
Friday, September 25, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
What is Recovery?
Ever had a surgical procedure? I've had several, all of which required full sedation. The part I've always dreaded since my first experience is the recovery room. It's cold, you're disoriented - not awake but not asleep. You are somehow aware that something is different about you than before you arrived in this room: something has been removed or repaired. And people keep asking you questions in louder than normal volume. "Mrs. Haynes, how are you feeling?" "Mrs. Haynes, are you in any pain?" Mostly you just want to get another one of those warm blankets and go back to sleeping peacefully.
Today, it occurred to me that life recovery has some similarities. For clarification, when I say "life recovery" I believe every human being is in recovery from life in a fallen world. Some people are recovering from life with parents who were cruel and abusive. Some are recovering from life with parents who were neither of those, but were all the same, imperfect parents. Some are recovering from sadness and suffering due to no one person's fault - the early death of a parent or sibling, for example. Some are recovering from sinful choices. Maybe those choices were a response to any of the previously mentioned life experiences; but perhaps those choices were just a product of a sinful will. And so really, we are all in life recovery. Not just drug addicts and alcoholics.
To be in "recovery" means that we have become aware that something is amiss in our lives and we are beginning to do something about it. This first stage is like making an appointment to go talk to a doctor about this ailment. That phase alone can require a lot of courage. But if you finally make it to the surgeon's table - you really mean business. You're committed. The surgery may be a huge success - the problem is identified and removed or repaired. This is the awareness and repair phase of life recovery. You spend a lot of time digging into terribly painful experiences and even disecting consequences to gain more clarity and understanding. If a surgical patient jumped off the surgeon's table onto the floor to go out and start back a normal life, all that was gained from the procedure may be lost and the patient may actually be worse off than before. So it is with life recovery.
The courageous women of Safe Harbor get one year for "surgery and the recovery room." It is a very painful and messy process. Dr. Sandra Wilson, author of "Released from Shame," one of the books we teach in our program, encourages us that "Depending on the severity of your personal brokenness and the extent of your cooperation with the work of his [God's] Spirit in your life, you will be able to 'soar on wings like eagles,....run and not grow weary...[or at least] walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
She says that if we wait out the process, spending the time in the recovery room as needed, making full use of the healing professionals available to us "there will be fewer 'fainting' days and more 'running' and 'soaring' days than there used to be."
Today, it occurred to me that life recovery has some similarities. For clarification, when I say "life recovery" I believe every human being is in recovery from life in a fallen world. Some people are recovering from life with parents who were cruel and abusive. Some are recovering from life with parents who were neither of those, but were all the same, imperfect parents. Some are recovering from sadness and suffering due to no one person's fault - the early death of a parent or sibling, for example. Some are recovering from sinful choices. Maybe those choices were a response to any of the previously mentioned life experiences; but perhaps those choices were just a product of a sinful will. And so really, we are all in life recovery. Not just drug addicts and alcoholics.
To be in "recovery" means that we have become aware that something is amiss in our lives and we are beginning to do something about it. This first stage is like making an appointment to go talk to a doctor about this ailment. That phase alone can require a lot of courage. But if you finally make it to the surgeon's table - you really mean business. You're committed. The surgery may be a huge success - the problem is identified and removed or repaired. This is the awareness and repair phase of life recovery. You spend a lot of time digging into terribly painful experiences and even disecting consequences to gain more clarity and understanding. If a surgical patient jumped off the surgeon's table onto the floor to go out and start back a normal life, all that was gained from the procedure may be lost and the patient may actually be worse off than before. So it is with life recovery.
The courageous women of Safe Harbor get one year for "surgery and the recovery room." It is a very painful and messy process. Dr. Sandra Wilson, author of "Released from Shame," one of the books we teach in our program, encourages us that "Depending on the severity of your personal brokenness and the extent of your cooperation with the work of his [God's] Spirit in your life, you will be able to 'soar on wings like eagles,....run and not grow weary...[or at least] walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
She says that if we wait out the process, spending the time in the recovery room as needed, making full use of the healing professionals available to us "there will be fewer 'fainting' days and more 'running' and 'soaring' days than there used to be."
Friday, June 26, 2009
Buds of Beauty in the Battle
For the past four months, our staff at Safe Harbor has been engrossed in a life and death battle for the lives of the women God has brought to us for healing and restoration. I never dreamed the spiritual warfare could be so heavy. Women come to us from the streets and lifestyles filled with abuse and pain beyond belief. Our enemy, Satan, does not give up without a fight, and we have been constantly reminded of that in obvious ways, and subtle.
This past week was a milestone. We were able to celebrate with one of our ladies as she graduated from Phase I to Phase II of our intense year-long program. It was the first party of her life, at 41 years of age. Her struggle has been great, but we are already seeing the buds of beauty and healing on the vine in her life. She writes:
“I thank God for this program. Without it I know I would be dead internally and externally.”
There are many more milestones to come for her, and for us. But we are encouraged with her success, and by God’s Word that says:
28 You light a lamp for me.
The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.
30 God’s way is perfect.
All the LORD’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
Ps. 18: 28-30. (NLT)
This past week was a milestone. We were able to celebrate with one of our ladies as she graduated from Phase I to Phase II of our intense year-long program. It was the first party of her life, at 41 years of age. Her struggle has been great, but we are already seeing the buds of beauty and healing on the vine in her life. She writes:
“I thank God for this program. Without it I know I would be dead internally and externally.”
There are many more milestones to come for her, and for us. But we are encouraged with her success, and by God’s Word that says:
28 You light a lamp for me.
The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.
30 God’s way is perfect.
All the LORD’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
Ps. 18: 28-30. (NLT)
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Second Chance
In the early pre-dawn light this morning, I looked out onto a world that was completely layered in white. Bright against the darkness, even before the glint of sunlight had touched it, the landscape looked pristine and innocent; stark - yet vibrant with possibility.
I thought about how our world needs a second chance. I wondered what it would be like if we could all wake up and get a do-over. If we could wipe the slate clean and begin with a fresh white sheet of paper. What would the script of our lives look like?
I have terrible penmanship. I absolutely love words, and just wish I could write them in a more beautiful way. So, often when I start to handwrite a note or a page in my journal, I begin carefully, slowly forming my letters as perfectly as I can. Before long, however, I get frustrated that I can't do this quickly enough to keep up with my thoughts. I have a feeling that a new chance at life may become a messy endeavor as well.
This week, we will receive women into our residential program for the first time. The house is freshly painted and beautifully decorated. It is poised, ready to become a one-year home for women who desperately want a do-over for their lives. We know that what looks like a scene from Better Homes and Gardens will feel like a bloody battlefield before much progress is made. Most of them began life in a messy situation, by no fault of their own; and it may seem to get worse before it gets better. But if they will allow God to carry them through it and to fight with and for them, there will be a peaceful victory.
The snow coming this week was perfect...
I thought about how our world needs a second chance. I wondered what it would be like if we could all wake up and get a do-over. If we could wipe the slate clean and begin with a fresh white sheet of paper. What would the script of our lives look like?
I have terrible penmanship. I absolutely love words, and just wish I could write them in a more beautiful way. So, often when I start to handwrite a note or a page in my journal, I begin carefully, slowly forming my letters as perfectly as I can. Before long, however, I get frustrated that I can't do this quickly enough to keep up with my thoughts. I have a feeling that a new chance at life may become a messy endeavor as well.
This week, we will receive women into our residential program for the first time. The house is freshly painted and beautifully decorated. It is poised, ready to become a one-year home for women who desperately want a do-over for their lives. We know that what looks like a scene from Better Homes and Gardens will feel like a bloody battlefield before much progress is made. Most of them began life in a messy situation, by no fault of their own; and it may seem to get worse before it gets better. But if they will allow God to carry them through it and to fight with and for them, there will be a peaceful victory.
The snow coming this week was perfect...
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Moving forward
Does everyone feel like this on the weekend after the new year begins? I seem to remember feeling this way all my life at this time of year. Kind of like "stuck" between the before and after.
Truly, it is only a mark in time - nothing more. There is nothing magical about starting a new calendar year. But somehow it seems like there should be, and I think there is the source of angst for me.
This year, at least, I feel that the previous year has brought me to this point in preparation for the upcoming one. And today, I feel like a runner must feel as she is prepared for the starting whistle. Trying to forget about all that brought me to this time except the important principles I've learned.
Our country is very unsettled, insecure. Indeed, there are a lot of unknowns for Safe Harbor right now, and for my family. Somehow, in this ocean of unsettledness, however, I feel a sense of calm and security that I've never experienced before. For sure, the pain and times of intense insecurity in this past year have served to anchor me in a harbor of trust. Trust in the character and closeness of my Father. I continually have before me the image from "Prince Caspian," as Lucy and Aslan prepare to face the thousands of enemy soldiers approaching them across the bridge. Lucy seems so confident with Aslan at her side, and yet she knows she may be called upon to fight. She pulls out her tiny little knife and draws herself up, glancing at the Mighty Lion at her side. Of course, God Himself rises up from the waters and the battle is quickly over.
I am so sure that God is with me, and that He cares about my family and about the women in my care. What intimacy to walk beside Him in trust! I must be willing to do my part, and surely there may be pain and injuries along the way. But there will be a victory banquet, and the noise of the battle will then be a dim memory.
So, I think He's ready. And I only know I want to be with Him. Where else would anyone want to be?
Truly, it is only a mark in time - nothing more. There is nothing magical about starting a new calendar year. But somehow it seems like there should be, and I think there is the source of angst for me.
This year, at least, I feel that the previous year has brought me to this point in preparation for the upcoming one. And today, I feel like a runner must feel as she is prepared for the starting whistle. Trying to forget about all that brought me to this time except the important principles I've learned.
Our country is very unsettled, insecure. Indeed, there are a lot of unknowns for Safe Harbor right now, and for my family. Somehow, in this ocean of unsettledness, however, I feel a sense of calm and security that I've never experienced before. For sure, the pain and times of intense insecurity in this past year have served to anchor me in a harbor of trust. Trust in the character and closeness of my Father. I continually have before me the image from "Prince Caspian," as Lucy and Aslan prepare to face the thousands of enemy soldiers approaching them across the bridge. Lucy seems so confident with Aslan at her side, and yet she knows she may be called upon to fight. She pulls out her tiny little knife and draws herself up, glancing at the Mighty Lion at her side. Of course, God Himself rises up from the waters and the battle is quickly over.
I am so sure that God is with me, and that He cares about my family and about the women in my care. What intimacy to walk beside Him in trust! I must be willing to do my part, and surely there may be pain and injuries along the way. But there will be a victory banquet, and the noise of the battle will then be a dim memory.
So, I think He's ready. And I only know I want to be with Him. Where else would anyone want to be?
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