House of Hope

Hi everyone -- Long time no blog! I just got back from Ruth's House of Hope in Faribault which is a halfway house/shelter for women from a variety of backgrounds and experiences who need a safe place to raise children, get back on their feet, recover from drug addictions, find jobs and homes, and get their lives together. This is part of a service learning project for Feminist Theology and it was the primary reason I didn't drop the course. Our task was to drive in, interview some of the women who live there, hear their stories and we will compile them as a fundraiser for the shelter to show the positive impact it has. Positive impact is an understatement. It is all too easy when you come from a school like St. Olaf to forget the hardships that people endure while they are here on Earth. Talking to these women opens your mind to the gift of living and the power of hope.
After we interviewed women in the house, a staff member said she would like to tell us her story but that we should go someplace else. Gina is studying human services at a school in Owatonna and is an intern at Ruth's House. At the Java Live coffeehouse downtown, we listened to Gina, who was raised in Northfield amid physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Despite this, she has vowed to break the cycles of abuse that consumed her family growing up. She is 38 and has four children, whom she is raising in a safe, healthy environment so they won't have to search for answers the rest of their lives as she has. She talked about how that abuse and the things that people say in anger never really go away -- people tell you to forget them and it's not possible because they have become a part of who you are. I really understood what she meant by this, but I have never faced the trials that she lived ith every day. What amazed me most about Gina was the faith she showed in God. She believes that God is watching over her and helping her to get through the earlier parts of her life, giving her courage to face what has happened and prevent it from continuing. It was uncanny coincidence that led Gina to Ruth's House and she has so many moving personal experiences that guide her to live a better life than she thought she ever could.
Hearing her speak made me realize that things do happen for reasons and that people are sent into our lives to make a difference. Meeting Jimmy has to be one of those things... He hasn't had the easiest life either, but he has shown me that I am worthy and deserve of love and happiness. Before, I had wondered before if they could ever really happen for me. It makes me appreciate my mother and father and brother all the more because they want the best for all of us and many families don't have parents who care so much. There is so much wonder and beauty in simply living your life and finding happiness in the fact that you have a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and people who care about you. Sometimes we think of these things as our rights, not as a privilege worthy of eternal thanks. Where has my faith in God been? I felt so alone and so confused. Volunteering this morning definitely made me see the world and my own experiences in an entirely different light. That place really is a house of hope, not just for the people who live there but for those who pass through.