Love

Love
By: Atlas Kelly, Social Worker and MOS Leader

Faith, hope and …Love???

I started working at Building Hope Community Life Center in the fall of 2006. When I came to Building Hope I was a confused young man. I did not have the best relationship with my father, I was struggling in my personal relationships, I was not in school, and I felt hopeless at what the future had in store. I was hurt, wounded, and abandoned.  I was a boy trying to be a man, wanting to be loved.

God, in his sovereignty brought me to the right place at the right time. My first thought was, “Man what have I gotten myself into?  I am working with four women.  They will never understand me.”  That year was a tough year for me.  I seemed to not click with them.  I felt more misunderstood than ever before, but, at the same time, every day I came to Building Hope there was a peace in my spirit, and I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

When I look back at that year I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

What struck me most about that first year was not the fact that they were all women or that three of the four was white or that they were older than I, it was the fact that they had the love of Christ in them. They were always praying with and for one another and they would always show love towards me.  No matter how distant I was towards them, they continued to love me and pray for me.

I learned a valuable lesson that year, Love is powerful! I grew as a man, began to understand my worth in Christ, and begin to learn what love is, by the example that was set for me and by the prayers of some pretty AWESOME women.

The way they loved me is the way we should love our kids, in the same way that Christ loves us. We should desire to love these kids unconditionally with the love that Christ loves us not just because his word tells us to but because they NEED us too. A lot of the youth that we serve are much like I was nearly six years ago, lost, hurt, lonely, distant, and confused but one thing I have seen and know is true; Love is powerful!

The power of love to heal, comfort, and bring peace is miraculous. I have seen how love has transformed the lives of so many young men and women that we have had the privilege of working with at Building Hope, and it is extremely humbling to witness.  I challenge you as a reader to come Love alongside us.  I promise it will change your life the way it has changed mine.