"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:10

Several years ago, I remember meeting with a former resident at a local fast food restaurant, we’ll call her Jessica. I don’t recall all that was going on at that time, but I’ll never forget our interaction that day. I asked her something along the lines of ‘What do you want?’, probably trying to distill down what her goals were or something like that. She looked at me and said, "You know what I really want?…I want my mom!"

In that moment I was hit by the enormity of what she was saying. Her mom had died a few years earlier and now, there was a little girl inside that just wanted her mom back! And yet here she was: a legal adult expected to make grown up choices in the real world. I can’t remember how I responded. Somehow, I kept it together during our meeting.

For some reason that I still don’t quite understand, Jessica’s reality washed over me like an ocean wave as I was driving away. What started out as a few tears grew into a torrent. I had to pull off to the side of the road to get a grip on myself. For several minutes, I let go and opened myself up to experience as much of her reality as I knew how. I remember crying out to God to have mercy on her. In that single moment, life felt so unfair and yet I also felt as if my heart was beating as one with God’s.