Come On In!

Come on in! Those words can sound so very good when we know we are entering a place that is welcoming, safe, and restful. Walking through the door gives a sense of letting out that deep healing breathe of air, “Ah-h-h! Now I can be myself, I can relax, I can kick off my shoes and just settle in.” I hope you have found a place like that.

Jack had had a unusually stressful day. It started with an unexpected phone call from his friend who needed to talk to him desperately. His friend was about to take a drink after ten weeks of being sober. What an awful time to call! Jack had pushed the snooze button more than once, he couldn’t find that file that he put off looking for the night before. He really didn’t want to get on the road any later, because the traffic would be horrendous. Jack took the time to listen to his friend, and sure enough, he hit the later bumper-to-bumper traffic. He apologized to his irritated colleague. That’s how the day started. Dilemma after dilemma, trouble-shooting right and left met him throughout the rest of his day. Catching up with unanswered phone calls would put him again on the heavily-trafficked ride home.

It’s way past dinner time, but Jack calls a friend and asks for some time to just vent. Could he just stop by? He pulls up the winding driveway. Sees the front porch light on and a soft light coming through the kitchen window. As he walks up the front sidewalk he wonders if this was a good idea. He worries—His friend is super busy, he won’t have time. And the last time they talked, Jack had been pretty judgmental about how his friend was choosing to forgive his son again and again. Before he touches the doorbell, the door opens, an outstretched arm grabs him with a strong hug, and his friend says, ‘Jack! I’ve been waiting for you! Come on in!”  After an invitation to settle in and a welcome plate of tasty, warm leftovers and a hot mug of coffee, Jack and his welcoming friend settle in quiet den chairs and his friend says, ‘So…how are you holding up?”

This week I’ve been incredibly blessed. I attended a week-long training for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team Training at the Cove in Asheville, North Carolina. I have a HUGE dream to become a crisis team responder, a chaplain for the RRT. Chaplains come along side those in a tragedy to give heart and spirit-support to the victims and sometimes to the workers. Walking through the doors of  the Training Center felt like someone saying, “Come on in!” Settling in during the week, encountering like-minded hearts, learning new skills (which is an experience I love), enjoying the mountain air and sounds all gave me a sense that I could say “Ah-h-h! Now I can be myself.”

Jack felt like that soon after his friend hugged him into a safe, quiet place.

I learned the power of two important “RE” words this week: Reaction and Response.

The goal of the trained helper is to give attention to the Reactions of the person in crisis—to assess immediate needs and then to help them begin to find HOPE. To Respond is to meet those critical first needs, and then to guide the person to a sense of normalcy and more help if needed. As a chaplain, you assure them of your presence. “Come on in. Rest, sit down, and I’m here.”

As I ended this amazing training I saw a connection with these two “RE” words and how our loving God seeks us. When we have crisis reactions in our lives, we can walk up to His door. He’s always there. He’s ready with His response, “I love you. I forgive you.” He’s always ready to say, “I am here. Come on in!”

Our Reaction

Everyone experiences crisis—sometimes only a few times, sometimes almost daily. If I were to draw only one important lesson from this week, this is what it would be: if you ever find yourself going through some crisis, big or small, find a listening ear. Seek a ‘responder.’

Everyone at one point or more in their lives experiences spiritual crises. A disconnect with God. An angry spirit, an unforgiving heart, a sense of not feeling valuable to Him. Maybe we want to hide from ourselves. Our hurt and separateness has many symptoms. When someone is in a crisis event such as losing their home in a tornado, they may not have eaten for a while, they might be at a loss of what to do so they just sit, they might be confused, can’t sleep, or showing physical signs of distress.

When we’re in spiritual crisis we might stop going to worship. Maybe we were reading the bible, but now it’s not giving us the answers we want, so it’s ignored. Talking to God hasn’t worked either. So we stop praying. We start looking for relief in ways that may take us further away from Him. Instead of going up to the door of God’s heart, we don’t even take the road there.

His Response

Our  Responder is God. God sees our reactions. He seeks and calls out,  “Where are you?” God knows the gulf, the chasm between His child in crisis and Him. He’s not calling out because of anger or judgment. He’s seeking reunion. His love pursues. He prepares us, enables us to accept how much He loves us. He knows each of us so well His response fits who we are and how seriously deep we are in crisis.

Sometimes He sends one of His agents (you, me, others who love Him) unexpectedly.

Sometimes He responds to us directly through His word, or through His beautiful world, or through music.

Sometimes He confronts us when the world has become to important to us.

Sometimes He responds with just a gentle nudge in our heart.

Sometimes He enables us to pay attention to who we are and who we are becoming.

Sometimes He may allow a rejection,

a heartbreak,

a loss…

a tragedy to help us hear Him call,

“Where are you? Come on home.”

He always responds. He ALWAYS opens the door; and when You walk through, He’ll take care of Your most immediate pain or bitterness with His powerful grace. And then, He’ll ask, “So how are you holding up?”

If you ever find yourself in such a crisis, I pray that you’ll make your way to the door so you can hear Him say, “I’ve missed you! Come on home!”