Just like the rest of the world

I have learned that many of the veterans I am working with have been through some shit. Some of them say they have but haven’t … I wonder if it’s because they are trying to justify why they are where they are currently (which is homeless). I guess we all want to justify why we are where we are when we screw up. Hmmm… But it doesn’t really matter if some of them are lying to me — their lies only keep them stuck. Until we get real with ourselves, nothing changes. Until we take ownership for our part in things, we aren’t going to see any changes in our life. People ask me, do you get mad when they lie to you … occasionally, but really I just move on to the next person to see if they are “gettin’ real” — and then, I help them move forward in their life. But I’m still kinda sad for the guy/woman who just wants me to think they are doin’ the right thing, but in reality they continue to make the same mistakes and doing the same thing over and over again — yet expecting different results. Some call that insanity. I call it stuck. I hope I’m around when they get “unstuck” and I can celebrate with them. For now I stand by, wanting to help but not able to until they get real with themselves … so life can begin again for them. Now I know how my mom felt. I wonder if that’s how God feels still about me? My “stuck” is just considered “higher functioning” — we all are stuck somewhere because not one of us knows it all or always does that right thing. We all are creatures of habit and patterns … and not all our patterns are good things. Even the best patterns are flawed. Paul said it best in Romans … we all fall short of the glory. Thank God, literally, I don’t have to be perfect — only progressing.