Come As You Are

by the Springdale Family Care Resident Manager, Savanna Auslam

Church can be very hard for some people. It was this way for one of our moms here at the Desired Haven Family Care Home in Springdale. This mom had experienced a lot of trauma and unfortunately some of that hurt was caused by churches. Instead of the church being a safe place to receive healing, comfort, and restoration; it felt to her like a place of judgment, criticism, and pain. She had told the Resident Manger and Case Manager countless stories of attending church and not feeling welcomed. She felt the harsh stares of criticism and judgment when one Sunday she showed up in her work uniform.

During Bible Study one night after processing this instance of church hurt, she uttered the words, “But, God says COME AS YOU ARE and sometimes that means right after my shift ends at work.” After being in the program here in Springdale for 11 months, a member of staff asked the mom if she would be interested in attending church together one Sunday morning. Staff knew that this woman had not been attending church and was about to exit the program. The mom and her daughter agreed to go. The service went well and judgement-free. The mom stated how much she enjoyed herself and how she was going to come back next week. The following week the mom and daughter got up early enough to go to class and the service. The mom stated she really enjoyed herself and their time of worship. The following week the mom came home and excitedly told the staff that she had secured an apartment that was within walking distance from her church.

We encourage our moms to get plugged into a church and build their support system. All it took in this instance was someone being willing to ask her to go. Let’s celebrate as this family moves into independent living and continues building a support system that will encourage and strengthen this family.