Wounded in the House of Friends

It hurt more because it came from within, from people who should have understood better than anyone. A harsh word from someone in your faith community, an injustice inside your own church, a judgment coming from someone who should have welcomed you, not condemned you. You almost decided it wasn't worth being part of anything anymore, that it's safer to stay alone in your faith.

I understand this pain in a deep way, more than you know — I was rejected by my own too, wounded by those closest to me. I don't defend or excuse the injustice that happened to you. But I invite you not to let one person, or one particular group, close the door I want to keep open forever: the door of living in community with others who are also learning, with mistakes and all, how to love well.

Starting over here might mean seeking healing before seeking a new place to belong. Let me heal what was wounded inside you, in your own time, with no rush at all. Afterward, I myself will show you where to plant roots again, deeper this time.