Just Keep Swimming

If you know me, you know I have a love for Disney movies. Yes, partially because I’m kind of a little kid at heart sometimes but also because I think so many Disney movies have a lot of good lessons that we tend to not recognize until we are much older. One of my favorite scenes from Finding Nemo is when Dory is talking with Marlin and says “when life gets you down you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming”. Which if you know the movie, this turns into a whole song which is pretty funny. I bring this scene up because I love the role that Dory plays in Marlin’s life here. She is this voice of encouragement in the midst of a very dark and difficult moment for Marlin and her role here very much reminds me of the role our team often plays in the lives of our members. Many of our members experience a number of difficult trials, past and present, that we may never be able to understand, relate to or ever experience firsthand. However, one thing we can do in all of these circumstances is stand by our members through those moments and encourage each to “just keep swimming” or in other terms keep pushing forward and just as Dory did, take their fin (hand) and swim (walk) alongside each through this journey.

Along this journey, some of our members may undergo some poor decision making that may result in the need to negatively transplant or transition out of Hope Street. These are just some of the difficult moments - moments where walking alongside our members looks like encouraging someone to return to treatment and reapply in X amount of days - a moment that is not easy for either individual on either side of the conversation, but a necessary conversation and encouragement to be had in order to truly help our members “just keep swimming” and moving forward in their own growth journey.

Lord, I just thank you for each and every individual in this building, those who have transplanted out for a variety of reasons and those who we may not have met yet but will in the near future. I thank you for the ways you equip our staff to walk alongside our community. I ask that you continue to guide us as we make some of these difficult decisions - decisions that lead to asking someone to leave. Lord, I write this today in thinking through a couple of people in particular who we have recently had transplant out of Hope Street. I pray that you continue to be a guiding force in their lives - may your presence continue to be felt and be known. Lord, I just pray that we all are able to have a Dory in our life - someone who encourages us, who lifts us up and sometimes maybe even has to break the “bad” news by sharing with us what needs to be heard and done, even when it may be difficult to hear.

Amen,

Brooke