Blind Spots

We typically operate this way: what we don’t see, we don’t accept as real. We hear about something, but if we can’t make a connection with it through our own experience, understanding, or thinking, we operate as if it doesn’t exist. We are insulated by our ignorance, and we’re just fine with that! It’s a blind spot that is rarely intentional, but intentional or not, we need to know and respond.

Ellis County is home to a pattern of trauma that is not unique. Battered women and children fill the blotters of police, hospital admissions, and school counselors. Even more are invisible to the community, and people atrophy under the weight of their pain. Why? Most often because they do not know how to get help or what that will entail.

Today, I toured the facility of The Heights Family Resources, located at Walnut Grove and Hwy 287. Jennifer Salzman directs the center and previewed the campus for several pastors and helping professionals. It will bring together many important services to help heal the trauma that too many have experienced. It will house Ellis Women’s Job Corps, trauma counseling resources, law enforcement assistance, and a variety of mental health resources. And our church is part of a growing support base helping fund and partner with them.

You may not know how prolific the need is if you haven’t experienced this unique pain personally. But it is a wonderful avenue for us to be part of caring for the bruised and broken, the powerless and abused. Jesus called us to care for the poor, the broken in spirit, and the defenseless as we give hope through the Gospel. We learned that this will be the first faith-based family resources site of its kind, and they are coveting our prayers, support, and, in the days ahead, our involvement.

So, the next time you’re driving east and over the bridge at Walnut Grove, look to the south to the freshly painted white buildings and thank the Lord for this new opportunity to breathe hope into the lives of people in need!