A friend of mine works with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC), based in Nashville. She was recently quoted in one of the agency’s publications, Healing Hands (Vol. 12, #5: August 2008). Her remarks are worth sharing here because her insight into the assumptions of language can inform us when we reach out to people in need.

“ ‘Approaching people who are suffering requires our special understanding that they may not view the universe in the same way we do,’ says Heather Rippetoe, M.A., NHCHC’s training coordinator. ‘You can’t assume that ‘You are loved’ means anything to another person.’

“Words may not be enough to convey simple core truths. Listening is all important and linked with providing a safe space for vulnerable individuals. Rippetoe uses her experience as an educator with special interests in religion and health to convey the quality of spirituality as ‘something true and life giving with sources that replenish selves and help us tap into hope.’

“She adds: ‘If we were dry, fed, and cuddled, we may have healthy expectations that our needs will continue to be met. If no one responded to our cries, our view of a benevolent universe may not be as bright.’”

Thank you, Heather, for helping us think about spirituality in this way: “something true and life giving with sources that replenish selves and help us tap into hope.”

Let it be so. 

Amy Lyles Wilson