Recently, I was asked to write about an experience that deepened my understanding of mission or impacted my faith in the past year’s service, and to reflect on what I learned through it. . . this is what came to mind:

One utility assistance meeting in particular really changed the way I think about the purpose of mission and faith.  Prior to the meeting, I had seen that the client had already been to us twice for utility assistance, and had received a good amount of money from the Energy Outreach Colorado grant just last spring. I had already formed an opinion of this person as a user of our system, someone who was relying on our help rather than trying to better his or her situation. I had applied the story of others I had met  to this woman, before I had even given her a chance to speak.

In our meeting however, with every word she spoke and every truth of her story, the picture I had in my head fell apart piece by piece. Since her last assistance, her mother had passed and she herself had fallen ill, and while she was in the hospital for treatment, her son had robbed her blind and pawned most of her and her mother’s possessions. Despite her best efforts, she had gotten behind on her utility bill; but what is a utility bill when juxtaposed to the betrayal of your son and dealing with kicking him out of the house while simultaneously grieving the death of your mother? And shame on me for not allowing her the space to tell her story. And shame on me for placing any judgment at all on this woman.

Mission is not about helping the people you think deserve it. Mission is not about judging anyone else’s circumstances. Mission is not about giving with red tape and conditions. Mission is meeting someone where they are, and giving them the space to tell their story; sharing yours with them and inviting God into those places to bring peace and healing there.

-grace and peace