"But in your darkest place, or what you believe to be your most hidden hideousness—even there, God is dwelling.” – Fr Gregory Boyle
Greetings from Capitol Hill,
A word from our Monday night Shift Director, Logan Robertson:
In the run-up to the Christmas season that just passed, both of my older children came down with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, then I came down with it. What was a minor inconvenience for them was a major ordeal for me. It seems Hand Foot and Mouth is one of those diseases that, for kids, is not a big deal but for adults can be more serious.
Not to get too far into the graphic details but I ended up with a high fever and very painful lesions all over my hands, feet, and face. They really knocked it out of the park when they named this one!
I ended up missing most of my family's Christmas activities and didn't feel particularly comfortable leaving the house covered in angry red blisters. After a few days I started to feel pretty stir crazy and, frankly, sorry for myself.
I started to wonder, "Where is somewhere I could go where I'd be accepted?" Network is the place that popped into my head. It occurred to me that Network is the one place I could definitely go in this condition where I wouldn't feel self-conscious and where I wouldn't get a second look from the people gathered together.
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There's a peculiar grace that operates at Network Coffee House among our friends who live with trauma, disability, addiction, poverty, and mental illness. If I didn't know it before, I now have a small experience of what this grace must taste like to someone who needs it acutely.
As I was considering the gift that Network is to so many, I realized that at that moment Network was closed. I found myself tearing up, out of self-pity, yes, but also with empathy for our guests who must feel the same way sometimes during the hours we're closed, or when we're forced to take a night off for whatever reason.
So many people in and around Denver and across the country are a part of what we do, whether they give their money, their time, their prayers, their presence, or their service. I hope you feel a deep sense that the part you play in this small ministry has a huge affect in the lives of everyone who calls Network their living room—the living room of Christ.
Peace,
Logan