I find many nuggets of relevant wisdom in the Bible and this is one of them. In Matthew 25:29-34, Jesus enters into conversation with two blind men sitting by the road. He calls to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” It would seem that anyone with vision and a small bit of awareness would assume these blind men want their vision restored. My interpretation of this encounter is that (1) Jesus chose not to assume based on his perspective, and (2) Jesus desired that the men articulate what they want and to hear themselves speak the words. For me personally, there are times when life feels so chaotic that when someone asks me, “what is it that you want” - surprisingly, I can’t answer other than mumbling something about making it all go away. That pointed question invites me to dig beneath the surface of the immediate circumstances to discern what is at the root of the mess in which I find myself at that moment. Then (and most importantly), I need the courage to ask specifically for what I want. Not easy to do sometimes.
AWBA asks the same of those we serve. What is it that you want? We have a year of events and programs already behind us. But, we know that we have just touched the tip of the iceberg. You may or may not know what you want as far as an end result and what an effective program might actually look like for you. If not, can you identify the struggles you face? Can you share with us what programming has been helpful and not helpful for you in the past? I believe that God will help AWBA weave together your feedback to create a pathway for programs we might offer in person and via the Internet.
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I invite you to respond below or, if you prefer a bit of dialogue or confidentiality, email me at director@myawba.org.
Thank you for being here this day.
You know, it's so much easier to mumble "just get me out of this mess!" In the midst of the mess it's hard to figure out what it is you really need. But without that it's impossible for others to know how to help. Some wonderful, kind people will wade into the mess with you and then there's two of you in the mess! Besides fulfilling the platitude "misery loves company" that's not helpful to anyone.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard sometimes to figure out what you (I) need and sometimes it's even harder to be courageous enough to ask for/receive help from others. But I believe we're not meant to live this life alone, even though sometimes we (I) can feel very alone.
Note to self: Figure out what it is I want/need right now. Then ask for it.