I was helping my twin, 2-year-old granddaughters on the slide the other day when Allisyn suddenly stood up at the top and baled off into my arms. It caught me off guard and I have to admit, I almost missed. I put her down and she went right back to the top and did it again. I was ready this time.
I thought to myself, “Wow! That took a lot of trust.” She didn’t even give it a second thought.
And then I thought, do I trust like that? If not, why not?
The placement of trust is a very fluid and fragile thing. Sometimes we are right to take care in who we trust. But the inability to trust can be very debilitating.
I have to admit, after hearing some of the stories of our clients at our two shelters, I find myself wondering how this person could ever trust again. Not only were they let down by family members, authority figures and friends, but these people many times abused their positions and took advantage of their trust.
It can be difficult and, in many cases, impossible to serve these men and women without trust. And there’s nothing a person can say to convince someone to trust them. In fact, if you have to say, “you can trust me”, you’ve pretty much affirmed their belief that you can’t be trusted.
So, what do you do. Well, here at Faith Mission and Faith Refuge, we practice two virtues with our clients. In some cases, it is the first time they have ever encountered these qualities, and they are quick to say so.
What are they:
- Authenticity-We are real.
- Consistency-We are there.
Trust is lost when someone lies and is not dependable. We hear this all the time. So, we tell the truth in love, and we always show up. This is totally foreign to many of the men and women we serve. And when they ask why we are different, we tell them that Jesus changed our lives, and we are following in His footsteps. He loves us this way and we want to love you the same way.
Slowly, over time, trust is built. We are able to lead them toward change and success because now our words mean something. They can trust us.
Trust is a treasure that someone chooses to give. It has to be treated as such. At Wichita Falls Faith Mission, we know this and will always do our best to be trustworthy.
