Volunteering is mostly easy. Sometimes I am faced with people who seriously need a chaplain. I try hard to explain I'm not a chaplain or a priest.
Today a woman wanted to confess her sins. I asked if she is Catholic. She said she is Baptist. I told her to confess her sins to God. Nobody else needed to hear. I ended up getting to hear it anyway. So then I asked if I could pray with her and tried to get her on a higher note.
She desperately asked if God could heal her. I had to say I thought He could but it might not be His plan. But He could help her bear her burdens. Listening to the heartache of others is the most difficult part of volunteering. None of this was short and she was crying. I didn't feel very helpful.
One of the things that surprises me most about working with the public is how often people just need someone to listen to them and talk to them and as I do it, because I can and it takes nothing from me I just keep wondering, "Where are these peoples friends? How far down the list have they fallen where a stranger behind the counter is who they're reaching out to?" If they're to that point it seems like it'd be unnecessarily cruel to not do what I can. Mostly it makes me feel bad for their situation and yeah... I usually leave the encounter feeling unhelpful as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad she found a friendly ear (or two) when she needed it.