Ke’aloha–Love is all around.

God never ceases to amaze me. There are times when I foolishly fail to recognize His ever presence, but the truth is He is always moving, always knowing, always loving and always present. Sitting cross-legged, talking story with a group of teens about Psalm 139, God revealed a little more of himself to me. God reminded me how valuable the youth around me are and even gently tugged on my own heart to realize the value He sees in me.

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."- Mother Teresa

Together we searched the scriptures picking out verses that displayed God’s aloha for us. We discussed things of this world that make us feel less than worthy but never left it there. We always returned to what God had to say about our value and how that made us feel. Dr. Ellor would have been proud; I made sure to reach for the feeling line. During our time together, as if it was a new revelation, I was struck by the importance of children knowing how loved and valued they are. I was struck by the power of God’s words speaking into their lives through sharing of scripture, life experiences and feelings. I was struck by the common need for all of us in this diverse group to hear how God values us.

This leads me to why God never ceases to amaze me. Through this experience God is completely changing me. Don’t get me wrong I have always liked kids. I just have never been one of those girls that loose their minds around babies.  In fact during my early 20’s I got this notion in my head that I would be okay not having kids being satisfied to be a fun Aunt to my nephew Bryce. Since being on Lanai my feelings towards kids both professionally and personally have been changing. These kids are amazing and so important. My heart is being stirred to the point of considering adoption, but that is a whole different blog.

My passion for social work has been an ever-growing journey and through each learning experience I find out more about myself and my professional desires. A beauty of social work is that as a field it encompasses so much. Therefore my passions aren’t flaky, just diversified. I began with a heart for oncology/hospice care then slowly moved into this idea of community practice. Scholars of social work would call these two areas micro and macro practice. In school there has always been this forced labeling of yourself as a micro/clinical or macro/community social worker. In our own arrogance we forget that there is a middle ground of mezzo, but that doesn’t get as much hype. The reality is that its all social work and no matter what job we are doing we will do it all in some shape or form. The important part is that we are harnessing our own gifts and talents to serve in the best way possible. It is my belief that when we box ourselves in by such rigid labels that we limit our potential to be real world changers. I am seeing this more and more each day that I am on island.

The island is so small that you can’t be a lone wolf or hero of the day. Everyone needs each other, needs to share resources and wears several hats in the community. I have been pleasantly encouraged by the joy I am getting from working with the youth at both the school and church. The behavioral health team at the school is fantastic and my eyes have been opened to the powerful impact social workers can have on a school campus. It is inevitable that the work being done there generates change in the community. My community practice interests/efforts are being spurred by the interactions with the youth during the day. It is from them that I am learning so much and my passions are being fueled because they deserve the best. They deserve to have full bellies, quality education, safe homes, freedom to dream and to know they are worthy and loved.

 Through these kids, God has done a number on me and I am overjoyed.  

“To me, a faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with the poor…it’s nothing.”- Bono, lead singer of U2