I've got friends in low places...

 

                       He heals the brokenhearted

                              And binds up their wounds.   Psalm 147:3

 

        The hospital is a very special place to the Father’s heart, especially the psych ward. It’s a place for the weary and wounded, the brokenhearted. It’s a place where emotions run high, and one never knows who’s truly calm and who’s ready to explode. I met all sorts of people there, some that were bi-polar like me, some that were suicidal, some that had been through sexual trauma, and some there for mysterious reasons I didn’t have time to fully investigate.

        I would have stayed friends with some of the folks in the hospital… one friend I met, Antonio, has my number and did leave a voice message for me back in March… however he didn’t leave a working phone number for me to call him back on, which I’m not sure how to get in touch with him again at this point. And that’s too bad, because he’s a very important person to me, and he has some prophecies I wrote in the hospital.

        I did make friends with all the staff at the hospital. I was writing thank you notes to everyone, from the security guards, to the behavioral techs, to the CNAs, to the nurses, to the doctors, to the rec therapists (they were my favorite!) A few really special people got long notes. Some just got special Valentine’s Day notes. But, I’m glad I was there, and to have made friends with the people there.

        There’s another place I’ve been though, where I met some broken people… it was a partial hospitalization program. I actually have a friend from my time in that program. I was hoping to keep a few friends, I loved all the people there.

        These people are broken and hurting, too. And, this program was a place that helps people deal with their psychological wounds. The hospital was more like a medication triage, to stabilize you. The partial hospitalization program is where you deal with all your baggage.

        Some there are bi-polar, and some have anxiety or depression. Some struggle with substance abuse. All have their own story.

        You go from group to group throughout the day. Some groups are psychoeducational, and one group is a processing group. The processing group is the intense group, where people open up about their problems. They have tools to help you through the process. But there’s a lot of questions, and a lot of reflection. You listen to each other. You validate each other. You share. You take off your mask, even if only for that hour. You get to be real.

        Some days, the emotions would be so heavy, you could feel them in the room. Sometimes someone would leave the room to calm down. Sometimes you’d see tears running down everyone’s cheeks. People were hurting.

        Some had wounds from neglectful and abusive parents. Some had wounds from neglectful and abusive spouses. Some had boundary issues, or co-dependency issues, all kinds of issues, depression, suicidal thoughts…

        I liked the program. I felt I did some of my best ministry with the people in the program. Even though I was totally there for my own stuff, I couldn’t help but see it as an opportunity to bless those hurting right around me.

        I enjoyed the staff at the program as well. I know they all had special hearts for this population, to do such an intense job. To help people heal.

        It wasn’t my first time doing this program.  If in the future I need help processing things, I know I could go back. I’m trying to use the tools I collected there to help me process on my own now. I’ve still got some healing to do.

        Here’s the thing. These places were simply microcosms of the great need in the world. I promise, if there are people in your life, they are wounded in some sort of way and need healing. Their wounds may not be as acutely felt as those in the hospital, or the partial hospitalization program, but wow, those people are hurting and just waiting to be seen, to be heard, and to be loved.

        To get people to open up, to take of their masks so that you can see their wounds to bring them to the One who can bind them, well, it takes time, patience, and a whole lot of trust. If you can invest those things well, you have an opportunity for a deep, personal, meaningful ministry that few actually do take the time to share or experience. Because if we did invest in each other in these deep and personal ways, we’d have a healthier society and community to live in with others. Instead, it seems our communities are getting sicker and sicker. We are in need of Gospel transformation for any hope of gaining our communities back from the pit. The thing is, it’s totally possible. This kind of ministry is within anyone’s capability who has a heart. And this kind of ministry, a sincere ministry that actually deals with people’s wounds, is what the world actually craves.

        I’m doing some prayer walking and evangelizing with strangers these days, and there’s a time and place for that. But the vast majority of lost people in our society need to be reached within the kind of loving relationship I just described. Because the world is now painting Christians out to be the bad guys, the bigots, the XYZ label… and the sad thing is, the reason we’ve gotten those labels is because some Christians have acted in those ways. So now, we have a lot to overcome with non-Christians to even start a conversation about God or Jesus. My suggestion is that we learn the art of listening. We can only offer hope of healing when we know where the true wounds lie. And people are so so so wanting to be listened to and heard by somebody, anybody, who will love them.

        Some might reject us, that’s true. But we’re called to love our enemy anyway, right?

        You don’t have to go to the bar to meet people in low places, those people are all around you. My prayer is that you develop eyes to see them, and compassionate hearts to want to share the hope you have and point them to the Healer who binds up the wounds of the brokenhearted. We need more people like that in the world - even in our own lives, we crave that depth of relationship. Look around, and be the person, the friend, you would want yourself to have, and see how the Lord blesses your life.  Who knows, you may end up leading someone to Christ, which would be so exciting! And maybe in the process, you'll experience the Father healing your own wounds as well.