Have you ever encountered a situation in which you felt
completely out of your element?
Today, I’m thinking about my dear Grandma Nell trying to
teach me how to crochet while I was a sixth grader recovering from an
appendectomy. I clearly needed something to keep me busy. Against all odds, she
brought over a crochet hook (maybe two; I’ve tried to forget), yarn and
patiently, painstakingly tried to teach me the fine art of crocheting.
I just didn’t get it. The proverbial light never went on. No
one was home in the part of my brain where the crochet synapses were housed. I was overwhelmed. My stomach began to hurt
and my appendix was already gone.
My grandma took mercy and gently removed the mystifying
crochet stuff from my hands.
Mind you, I have many family members and friends for whom
crocheting is second nature. But the art and science of the hook and yarn are
still beyond me. Now as then, when someone enters the room with crocheting
material meant for my use I roll myself into a ball and wait for the cartoons
to come on. I’m simply overwhelmed.
My situation with crocheting is rather humorous. It is not a
crippling thing for me to lack crocheting skills in the bigger picture of life.
But what if the basic stuff of life left you utterly
confounded? That’s the situation in which many of our neighbors in Springs Rescue Mission's Resource
Advocate Program (RAP) find themselves. Through RAP, scores of chronically
homeless friends in need receive the encouragement and coping skills needed to get
through the month. A few weeks ago my colleague Sarah sent a progress report on
several people who were no longer overwhelmed by things that just a short time
ago left them stymied:
“Jeremy went to the pharmacy
and got his own meds for the first time ever!”
“Willie Lee came and told us
that his meds didn’t seem to be working (amazing self care, first
time!) And on the advice of his Advocate, he promptly went to the VA
clinic and got increased doses (after a blood test confirmed that the levels
WERE down).”
“Holly and Darrin have been
chronically homeless living in addiction – they each entered a treatment
program this month.”
“Krystle regained custody of
her two children from Department of Human Services and is second on the waiting
list to enter the Salvation Army Fresh Start Program.”
“Will has been homeless for more than two
years. He moved into housing very near his mother’s nursing home and
thanks to a lovely donor, he was gifted with a new afghan for his bed. (This
will be a new part of our program – when you move into housing, the ‘ladies who
knit’ will make a bed covering.)”
That last item is proof that ladies who knit can be the
source of miracles that comfort and encourage. (Just sayin’, in spite of my being crochet-challenged.) In fact, lots of
people pitch in to help make miracles out of things that previously overwhelmed
our chronically homeless neighbors. One way you can make a big difference right
now is to visit www.indygive.com/srm.
Then find and follow the prompts to make a donation to support RAP. Even $10
can make a huge difference to help a chronically homeless neighbor through the
month!
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