Angeline's Ladies - Part 2

The Cleveland City Mission, located on Carnegie Avenue, welcomes volunteers of all ages to help meet the needs of those in our communities. One particular location I gravitated to and served in was the Angeline Home, a crisis intervention home for women. It offered women a short term stay, giving them a chance to escape the vicious cycles that overpowered them. Every month I made my way over to the west side for what would be an evening of being in the company of vulnerable yet very strong women. What a privilege to sit with these precious ones, and share a moment of their world.

When the ladies walked into that room, with music playing, and the lighting set just right, I wanted them to feel they were entering a sanctuary of safety and encouragement. I wanted them to believe that somewhere in their world were those who would really understand their situation, and walk along side them in their despair. I wanted  them to know that, as women, we all have the same basic needs; to love and be loved, to nurture those that depend on us, to be recognized as individuals with a purpose, to have meaningful relationships, and to clearly understand our uniqueness as a part of God's plan. Truly believing these things does not come easily in many of our lives, even in the best of circumstances. So, to have these women's view of their hopes and dreams marred and destroyed by selfish and intolerant maniacs in their life, makes reaching them a greater challenge. Sometimes they would think, "......what does she know about this?" And rightly so.

Sensing these feelings present in the room would then allow me to expand on the fact that pain is pain, regardless of what is hurting us. Despair is despair, regardless of what or who robbed us of hope. Abuse is abuse, regardless of what or who delivers it. Anger is anger, regardless of why we feel that way. Rejection is rejection, regardless of who threw away our dignity and worth. In other words, these emotions each have a definition, that when found in any dictionary would say the same thing. The only thing that varies is how different scenarios caused those emotions to surface and spin out of control.

So helping woman understand that there is a common thread woven between all of us, that we each have a story that brought us to now, helped break down some barriers that allowed me to enter their world and minister hope to them.











After three years of sharing, I accumulated a whole binder of ideas and lessons. Here is a very small listing of some of the activities I implemented over the months that brought results - a smile to their faces and a chance to breath easier in spite of the raging pain in their hearts. Each visit highlighted a certain Bible verse, so the focus was always centered on one single truth, yet exposed and reinforced it in a variety of creative ways.

1.
We are the clay, you are the potter; 
we are all the work of your hand. 
Isaiah 64:8

The women were given a sheet of paper with a variation of the old Dot-to-Dot game found in kid's coloring book. The object or picture was revealed only after connecting certain numbers, according to the instructions I gave them. Identifying the subject beforehand was difficult or impossible without doing so. This is a figurative parallel to our lives; that only when we follow God's plan for our lives do we see a beautiful picture unfold. This can only happen with the belief that He provides a way to make this happen. Relying on our own wisdom in life cannot create our final design, but following the leading from someone who does know the final design helps lead us to the end result.

Each woman was then given a clump of clay. They began to soften it in their hands by continual movements and pressure making it more pliable to work with. Soon the clay was ready to be molded and shaped into a design. The clay cannot shape itself. It remains a clump because of its inability to change by itself. It depends on the knowledge of its crafter to be created into a beautiful work of art. After some time, a shape began to be visible, revealing a uniquely fashioned vessel.

Music to reiterate this concept was played, as it gave the ladies a moment to ponder their own personal growth and direction, and what they allow into their lives that ultimately helps shape the person inside. Often times, I would choreograph a human video that I would perform in front of them, giving the words a picture with added meaning. These were always a highlight for me to create ahead of time, as they were able to tell a story through the use hand and body motions to correspond with the lyrics. The ladies were drawn in to the story expressed in this manner.



2.
You are precious and honored in my sight and I love you.
Isaiah 43:4

This devotion was intended to drive home the truth that each woman present in the room had great value, exquisite beauty and worth, way beyond what they were able to grasp at that very moment in time. I had purchased large hand-held mirrors at the $ store, and on the back had glued some cut out flower designs from old wallpaper books. (the paint stores throw these away all the time, and always allow you to take whatever you want - great for crafts!) Below the flowers was the Bible verse from Isaiah. A bow was tied on the handle. All different designs and colors. Thoughts were then shared about the significance of our own personal individuality. The ladies LOVED the mirrors!

Open discussion was often times way too threatening to the women. They were already feeling extremely more vulnerable than they would have liked to acknowledge, so approaching difficult topics needed to be done with utmost delicate care, guarding the ladies privacy and respecting each one's individual reason for being there. My approach for diminishing their anxiety was to relay a personal situation of my own, allowing them to see me with the same thoughts and feelings that all women feel.

Being a facilitator in this type of setting is always a challenge, because you want to pour so much into their hearts in such a small amount of time. I was thrilled every time I went though, and loved sharing stories, crafts, music, songs, videos, object lessons, activities, games, and anything that reinforced their inner worth.

3.
..... for you have set my heart free 
Psalm 119:32

This particular devotion was actually done at a camp out in Ashtabula. The grounds were spectacular and the setting offered the perfect backdrop for what I planned to do. The theme was going to be "Holding on & Letting go".  We were going to get real clear about what we need to cling on to in life, and what we need to rid ourselves from. The goal was to gain a  very clear cut picture of the consequences and repercussions that come from many of our decisions.  (Let it be totally understood here that we are NOT talking about the harm that others inflict on us, just our own personal decisions, involvements, and relationships we choose.)

I had a very dear friend of mine accompany me for this evening, and she acted out a song in sign language. The chorus was taught to the ladies in signing so they could participate. They absolutely loved doing this!

Then, I had the ladies write down on prepared pieces of paper all the things they could think of that would bring life and meaning to their lives. Things and people that would support them, encourage them. Commitments to make them stronger. Determination to overcome obstacles. Relationships that heal and nurture. Involvements to enable their own personal worth and dignity.

Then, I had them write down all the things they had the capability of removing from their lives. Throwing off the things that so easily entangle. Attitudes, resentments, anger, bitterness, filthy language, slander, envy, unforgiveness, and anything that hindered them from being the person God designed them to be.

These were some hard core questions. Difficult to admit. But when they completed their lists, I revealed the finishing act to this little exercise. I proceeded to carry in a whole van load of helium balloons. They tied their pieces of paper to the string and we all walked outside. Music blaring lyrics of freedom set the stage for launching these balloons into the air and letting them go. The sky was beautiful. The sun just finding its way down to set. We stood motionless and speechless. There was power in the moment. We were caught up in the depth of what we just did.

After writing these three descriptions, I came to realize, that if I wanted to include all my ideas, you might not want to read something so long and detailed. But I still have my binder outlining everything we did for three years. Let's just leave it at this......if you would like some more ideas, I would be so happy to pass them along.