"I gave birth to a stillborn"

"I can’t stop crying"

"I want to die"

"I’m hungry"

"I can’t find a place to live"

"Abused, my whole life"

"I’m trapped. I’m tired. I’m lonely"

"Help me"

"I can’t do this anymore"

"Why do you care"

"I'm a few weeks sober"

All phrases I heard today. Let's just say it's been a long morning. On days like this I tend to over complicate being the helper. I often fall into the trap that in order to see real change I must make gigantic planet sized action. I'm always wrong. The smallest phrases often shed light on what feels like a bottomless ocean of pain.

So on mornings like this, when my heart is hurting and my brain is drowning, I keep it simple.

My responses?

Silence.

Here's a tissue.

How do we keep you safe right now?

Let me get you a banana. Hold on.

Can I help?

Sitting in silence, often with tears.

Please don't give up, this isn't your forever.

I am right here.

You are stronger than you know. You're a survivor.

I care because you matter. You've always mattered.

I am proud of you.

I can't always offer something beyond my means to create change. But I can offer something simple; love.

It once took me 6 months to gain the trust of someone (and let's be honest, I'm now working on keeping it). It was six long months of rescheduling missed appointments, encouraging them, listening to them vent at me, and struggling with seeing them slip in and out of sobriety. But I showed up. I was consistent. Every time they left my office I told them they mattered. After six months, they looked me in the eyes and told me "I trust you now. You're the only person in my life that has told me I mattered and stuck around. Thank you."

It's not just money. It's not just things.

It's wrapping someone completely in love; often beyond our understanding and with tested patience. It's showing up and sticking around. It's honesty and hope.

It's s i m p l e.

On mornings like this, their words leave me broken.

On mornings like this, it's quiet love that pleads for loud hope.

It's love; it'll always be love that changes this world.