We had been working with a young woman named “Anna” who was struggling with homelessness. A little while ago she was given the opportunity to move into a loving home of an incredible couple in our community. She moved in and things were ok at first.
The transition to a home, to a family who cares about you and wants to invest in you, can be hard for kids who have been on their own for a long time, and it was no different for Anna. After just a few months Anna made a lot of reckless choices and deeply damaged her relationship with the family. She got angry and moved out.
Earlier this month Anna reached out to one of our staff, Laura. Anna was low on food and asked for a ride to the food bank. Laura and Anna loaded Laura’s trunk full of food and started talking on the way home. Anna shared the situation with Laura and revealed that she’d made some mistakes she didn’t want to own up to. Laura took the opportunity to talk share about repentance and grace and the importance of taking responsibility for our actions. Anna listened and contemplated.
A few days later the family reached out to Laura to say that Anna had called them and the relationship had been mended.
Anna trusted Laura. She listened and she was open to hearing hard truths from someone who proven she would show up to help meet practical needs, like a ride to the food bank, as well as emotional needs, like talking through hard situations and processing the pain of fractured relationships. And Laura has proven she’ll keep showing up even in hurtful situations. “I’m always amazed at how much further a hard conversation can go when you are making a deposit into their lives,” Laura reflected.