Seeing the Inner Beauty

Often I would drive by a church of another denomination on my way to work, and it seemed that the entire front was made of dark glass. But only when I attended a funeral there, did I get to see the incredible resplendent multihued beauty inside of the stained glass windows. When the sun shone through it was transfixing.

It occurred to me that this is the privilege we at Taller de Jose have as we listen and accompany clients who come to us for help and share their innermost hopes, aspirations and pain. We experience that inner beauty.

So often we hurriedly bypass others with lowered eyes, not noticing anything remarkable about them, but when we take the time to hear their stories, the sun begins to illuminate their inner strength and love…

• The woman who had courage to testify in court against two thieves that robbed the store late at night where she worked and stole her car.
• The families who are on the edge of homelessness and have to keep moving because they can’t afford the rent.
• The father who works two shifts so his sons can finish high school and college.
• A woman who feels so lonely. She has worked 23 years at a factory with coworkers who are aggressive and mean because she is Spanish-speaking. She is the only breadwinner with no one to talk to. Both her daughter and husband are incapacitated and dependent on her.
• The woman with three tiny children whose landlord wouldn’t replace the glass in the kitchen window all winter after thieves had attempted to break in.

These are just a few examples of the faith-filled, valiant people who allow us to accompany them and experience their inner beauty.

[shared from http://tallerdejose.org/wordpress1/index/2016/03/09/seeing-the-inner-beauty/ with the author’s permission]