He was so young that I suspected he might have Medicaid. In fact, I checked his date of birth to see if he was over 18. Turns out, he was 22. After his paperwork was completed, one of our student volunteers called him back to be triaged. When I wandered down the hall to check on things, I found him hunched over in his chair crying, with our volunteer on her knees beside him.
While he was in a room waiting on the doctor, I went in to meet "Matt." I asked a few questions, and soon he was weeping - hard... like shoulders-shaking-and-fat-tears-running-off-his-nose hard. I listened as he poured out his heart about a lost childhood and a strained relationship with his now-divorced parents. I couldn't help but think this was an 8-year-old boy in a 22-year-old man's body. When I asked about his faith, he told me that he no longer had any.
These are the situations that antibiotics and a Good Health Card can't fix. These are the places where we dare not tread without the power of the Holy Spirit. This young man was reaching out to strangers because his community had failed him. I spoke with him about Hope and God's pursuing love, but mostly, I just listened. It was hard stuff to hear. Our doctor spent a lot of time with Matt as well, and she took the time to treat him with dignity. As we both stood next to him, I couldn't help but think that we really weren't being doctor and director, we were both just being who we were: moms. We were mothering this young man who desperately needed parental love.
After we both prayed with Matt, the most amazing thing happened: he smiled. Because that's what God's love does: it breaks through all the crap of this world and brings us hope in spite of our circumstances. Our situation doesn't change, but we move through it, maybe past it, and realize that although we are changed and shaped by our circumstances, we are not held captive by them.
And sometimes, you need a mom to remind you....
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