Piloting Faith: Being heard is being loved

A Word for the Day...

Today a friend of mine sent me a copy of a song he wrote and recorded. He recently lost a colleague who had been an inspiration to him and the clients they shared in common.

She was a counselor, working with young people struggling with schizophrenia and other significant mental health disorders. She cared deeply about her patients. She wanted to know them. She wanted to see them thrive. She had a way of listening that made them feel deeply heard and, over time, helped them heal.

Her passing was sudden and heartbreaking. She died far too young. As her patients processed their grief in losing her, one said, "She held hope for me until I could hold it myself."

My friend thought about all of the wonderful reflections that people offered about her, and then in his own grief, he put those lines to music. It’s a beautiful song that I wish I could share with you. Maybe one day. My favorite verse says:

The only truth I hold: Being heard is being loved.

Being heard is being loved. Let's remember that for each other. We all long to be heard, to be seen, to be known. I love Isaiah 43:1 for this reason. In the midst of uncertainty, when we feel our most vulnerable, Isaiah reminds us:

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.

We are known by the God who created us, sustains us and hopes for our wholeness. Even more, I believe God delights in us and for us when we take the time to know one another.

- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight

Prayer for the Week

God,

Keep my anger from becoming meanness.
Keep my sorrow from collapsing into self-pity.
Keep my heart soft enough to keep breaking.
Keep my anger turned towards justice, not cruelty.
Remind me that all of this, every bit of it, is for love.
Keep me fiercely kind.

Amen.