Towards a Joyful Soul

About a week after I started working at Eden House, a coworker came up to me and said, "I know I haven't known you very long, but I'm going on vacation. My roommate said he would look after my cats, but I'd like someone else to have a key just in case he screws something up. Would you mind helping me?" My first thought was, "Do you not have any other friends in this city that you can ask?" I was shocked that someone who had known me for a week would trust me with her house key and fur-babies. But, of course, I said yes. About a week after she got back from vacation, she came up to me and said, "I have a weird question and you'll probably say no, but do you want to go to a burlesque show with me?" Us at the burlesque show Who was this woman who so quickly trusted me and so boldly invited me into her life? Her name is Emily and she and I have quickly become close friends. The first time I went to her house was because she was ...

As I write this, I am brokenhearted. As I write this, I am angry. As I write this, I am discouraged. One of our residents has anger management issues. Soon after I started, she became outraged with me. I learned quickly to depersonalize her actions and to leave it at work. Over the last few months, I have seen this resident grow tremendously; I don't remember her last anger outburst. She has become a leader in the house, holding other residents accountable and communicating with the staff. She wrote me a note that included both "please" and "thank you"! I have even seen her smile at my jokes on occasion. We are all very proud of her progress. Then, one evening, she went AWOL and relapsed. According to our policy, if you go AWOL at night, you are immediately dismissed. The next day was a hard and somber day at work. It felt like a funeral. We are so sad to see her relapse. We are so sad to see her go. While I say that I learned to depersonalize, I d...

One of my most common prayer requests over the last few months has been for my relationships with my housemates and our community atmosphere. Often, I feel like our house is a place of tension and conflict. There seems to always be one person or another that I'm vaguely annoyed at. But, looking back on the pictures that I've taken since August, we've actually had some really fun and funny times together. I'm reflecting that the people I live with have become my family. We navigate the mundane of life together; I often want to strangle them, but at the same time they bring joy into my life and are helping me grow. So, here is a photo journal dedicated to me appreciating the family that I've made in New Orleans: I came to Louisiana and was welcomed into the Big Green House. We started out as a house of 6 and spent the early weeks visiting the various PC(USA) churches in New Orleans. Sarah tried very hard to get pictures with all of us in them; the guy...