Helpless

Helpless


I have what can best be described as a "hideout,"an establishment in town where I can sit, drink coffee (it is a coffee shop), study and write.  Normally, it is my safe place as my office can sometimes seem more like Grand Central Station.  This morning it was not my safe place.  As I entered a woman sat at the counter, saw me and motioned for me to sit down next to her.  Used to having people recognize me before I recognize them, it took a few paces for me to realize I did not know this woman.  One or two more paces and it was very obvious this woman was clearly disturbed.  Too late, as by this time I had arrived at my "spot."  Funny how we are such creatures of habit, like church folk have their favorite spots in church service, I have a favorite spot.  The unfortunate aspect to my "spot" this day was that it was next to the counter at which my new friend sat.  I went around the counter and placed my order with my favorite bartender/barista.  I was not ignoring my new acquaintance, She was talking to me, and I was responding but it was very evident our conversation was not sensible.  Sensible people make the mistake of trying to reason with disturbed individuals - this results in frustration because there is no way an unreasonably disturbed individual will be reasonable.  The best tactic is to respond to their nonsense and nod a lot.  My barista friend mouthed, "sorry" and I ordered my coffee.  By the way, I like the hard stuff, black house coffee, no sugar.

I moved my materials to the other side of the room as my new friend conversed with the barista, who could not escape as I did.  She conversed with a group of men at a front table, whom she did not care for apparently.  She conversed with me, and she carried on a rather lengthy conversation with no one in particular.  It was obvious that some of us she liked, and some she did not.  I, for some unknown reason, she did like - no accounting for taste.  A rather attractive young woman came in - petite, pixy-cut dark hair (which turned out to be a rather attractive shade of blue), dressed in a very contemporary fashion of skinny jeans and short jacket.  My new friend definitely did not like Miss Blue Hair.  We thought afterwards that it might have been a competition/territorial issue, as the men in the room clearly liked Miss Blue Hair.

Do not think we were all callous boors who ignored this poor woman (not Miss Blue Hair, my new friend).  No, her issues had been addressed, the police had tried to become friends with her - she was quite well known to them, but it was obvious there was nothing to be done.  Keep in mind that a couple of the regulars sitting at the table she did not care for are in law enforcement.  This poor woman was obviously off her medication.  Quite normal in her experience.  She ends up in jail when her disturbances reach the point she breaks the law.  The judge orders her incarceration, then observation by local mental health facility.  In a few days she gets back on her medication, does well until she stops taking medication and the whole process begins again.

Such is the predicament for a segment of our society.  Crazy, isn't it?  But I don't know which is crazier, the disturbed individuals of society, or the way in which society mismanages the disturbed.  Today's blog is not meant to address this complex social issue.  Some of you will respond that such a statement is morally insufficient to the issue and that"someone ought to do something about it."  Let it be said that we generally mean "Government" when we say "someone" and that opens up a whole new set of problems.  I don't think we want a government with the absolute power to deny personal freedoms.  So, maybe you can see where I am going.  Situations like this seem so...helpless.  

Societies have long struggled with this issue.  You can even see the topic introduced in the Bible.  Jesus met the Gadarene demonic - the "crazy" man who had become such an issue to his neighbors that they chained him up out of the way.  Perhaps our system might be crazy, at least it is not that barbaric.  I guess you should know that Jesus helped that man.  Jesus drove out the demons tormenting the mind of that wretched man.  I guess we are not so helpless after all.  That doesn't mean that I can help my new friend by casting out her demons.  Well, not me, but Jesus.  So I prayed for my nameless friend so that Jesus might help her.  Given the situation, I am trusting God to handle the situation even though I may not see her again.  I can't help, but He can.  I can't even carry on a rational conversation with her, but He can.  So, I guess my part in this is to pray for her and trust God.  
There is so much out there beyond our control.  so many with so many obstacles in life.  But we are not truly helpless.  As believers in Christ, we also are ambassadors of hope.  In impossible situations we can pray, in difficult situations we can come alongside, in all situations we can remember the power of the Gospel.

The worst we can do is to act as if we are helpless and do nothing.

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