Stay the Course
January 5, 2005
The day after Christmas a good friend called to say hello. In the early part of the conversation, he said, “You sound dead tired.” ”Really?” I replied. “I guess I am. I’ve got a bit of a cold and did not sleep last night but otherwise I think I’m o.k.” But then I began to think and realized that the holidays had been good, but very hard. Here is the sequence of events that took place the week before Christmas. Some of the names are changed to protect people’s privacy.
Sunday: Fred, one of the guys to whom we’ve been reaching out, showed up drunk. Blayne and I agreed to take him home. Blayne has just over one year sober and is one of the transformation stories that comes out of this ministry. When we arrived at Fred’s house, we got out of the car and before we knew what was happening, Fred punched Blayne in the face. Blood is everywhere; Fred is drunk and wanting to fight; and I’m in the middle of it trying to calm things down. We finally got Fred calmed down and in the house. Blayne and I come home and we spend a couple of hours processing and debriefing all that had transpired.
Tuesday: Eric - one of the guys who lives in Alpha House - asked to borrow the truck. He had gotten called in to work and needed immediate transportation. He took the truck, but did not go to work. Instead, he relapsed and for about twenty-four hours we did not know where he or the truck were. Finally about 24 hours later, he called and left a message telling us where the truck was. He stayed out about five more days before coming back in. We had to move him out of Alpha House and into a transition house over in the Heights.
Wednesday: We met Angel at Street reach. Angel is a pregnant young woman who lives on the streets of Montrose. She agrees to go to a home for pregnant women in Humble. She needs a place to stay (about a week) until a spot opens up for her there. The Gardners agree to let her move into Yupon House (our home for mothers with young children). She moves in on Wednesday and on Sunday she leaves - not to go to the home in Humble but to go back to the streets.
Friday: John, one of the guys with the most sobriety in our ministry, disappeared on Christmas Eve. He’s been around Harbor for nearly four years. His journey to sobriety has been hard fought, and over the past year he seemed to have made significant progress. We were blown away by his relapse.
In the midst of all that, we had a wonderful Christmas celebration - both with our biological and our Harbor family. In our worship service on Sunday evening following Christmas, one of our number said something like this: “As painful as all the drama of the week has been, I think we need to see it for what it is. Beyond the individual stories, I believe the enemy simply wants to discourage us. We love each of these people who has relapsed or gone out during the holidays. And when they relapse it makes us want to protect our hearts - maybe pull back a little.”
”But look around the room. This room is full of stories of changed lives and personal transformation. Don’t let the relapse of these few cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture. We are in a battle for people’s lives and in a battle there will be casualties. But there is a larger cause - the advancement of the Kingdom. Persevere!”
Am I tired? Yes, I guess I am. I think we all are - but for all the right reasons. In the midst of a battle where we see the Kingdom advancing, we are grieving for those who are lost, but determined to stay the course.