The Man

There once was a man and he was in a dark room.  He had been in that room all his life.  Nobody knew he existed, but the people who put him there and God.  One day a person happened along this path that was not part of any map.  Out of curiosity the person wondered down the path and found an old abandoned house.  The person knocked on the door and no one answered.  The person could not explain the overwhelming urge to go into the house, and started to walk away.  The problem is that walking away was so difficult.  There was something inside the person that would not let him leave.  The person went into the house and there was nothing in sight.  When they turned around to leave there was a door and a sound coming from behind it.  Out of concern that there could be an animal trapped inside or someone in need, the person goes to the door and says is there anyone in there.  No one answers, but there is sound.  Again, drawn by The Spirit the person opens the door and inside the door is a man.  He is dirty, smells really bad and is fearful of the person.  The man goes into the corner, sits down and then balls up in a fetal position.

Now is the moment of truth.  What does the person do?  Does he help or does he call someone else to help and then leave or does he walk away as if he has seen nothing.  The person stands there for a few minutes contemplating.  The Spirit (Holy) will not let him walk away.  He begins to attempt to help the man and he realizes it is going to be a long journey.  He starts by sitting at the door to let the man get use to him and he does that for a long time.  He brings food and sits it inside the room and leaves it for the man.  Slowly the man starts to let his guard down and he comes closer to the person.  They smile at each other, but there are not spoken words.  After a long period of time the person speaks to the man and he is fearful of his voice because he has been locked up all his life and to hear anyone speak is scary.   The person attempts to get the man to leave the room, but he will not.  The person eventually realized that the man cannot handle the light because he has been in that dark room all his life.  The person start with a little light helping the man get use to light and as he becomes comfortable with a little bit of light he continues to introduce more.  When the man gets afraid he goes back into the room into his corner in the dark.  The person does not give up and when the man get afraid he sits in the room with him and he pulls out the first little light that he used and gradually begins to increase the light again.  It took years to get the man out of the room and even longer for the man not to run back into darkness when he was afraid. But the person never gave up.

Matthew 5:13-16 says we are to be Salt and Light in the world.

We are thankful for our foster parents who are willing to go into dark places and hold a little light, accepting children for where they are and seeing the worth in them just like Christ sees the worth in us.  If you or someone you know is interested in helping us reach more children, please click here for more information.

Written by our clinical director, Karen Cowan