Sanctuary

"I can't talk with other people about this. They wouldn't understand."

I've heard words like these many times -- and have expressed them some myself, too -- about addiction, abuse, fear, doubt, family trouble, and all sorts of other troubling issues. Though I don't always say it, my internal response is usually "You'd be surprised."

Working in a residential treatment center, serving in hospital chaplaincy, ministering in churches, and talking with friends, I've found the sentiment to be a common one, and it is based on the lie that everyone else has it all together. In hiding from each other, we hide from ourselves and from God, too. We can create barriers that keep us from reaching out even when we're so close. It's an awfully lonely way to live.

Anne Jackson describes the historical right of sanctuary in the Christian church, which defended criminals from execution or other unfair judgment and provided a place for criminals to find refuge until they received pardon or fair punishment. Churches still call their meeting places "sanctuaries," and I love how Jackson describes it:

"Church is a place for us to claim

the right of a modern-day sanctuary

where we can name our sins or ask our questions

and be protected and sheltered while we search

for grace, forgiveness, and answers."

The Church is not a building; it is people who follow God. And Jackson's word describe pretty well the kind of people I want to be.