Silent Running

Do you know the purpose of a submarine while in stealth mode. It is called silent running and it is used to evade discovery by eliminating noise. In a way peple are like submarines because although they can be physically seen they stop talking or making noise; so that who they are will not be discovered, therefore reducing the risk of being hurt. I had never really given that much thought because I am a real person. I hate games and pretense but something happened this week to make me understand why people do this.

I was with two other people that had taken the time to get to know who I was and where I came from. It was a discussion group and I felt safe. The question was asked and came around to me to answer. I answered from my heart and from experience and wham the torpedo came and slammed right into every part of me. At first I reeled from the shock. I didn't know what had hit me. Was I really just ridiculed? Was I really just accused of being "weird"? And then as the shock wore off I realized that yes I was hit and I was sinking fast. At that point, I understood the whole submarine concept as I went into stealth mode. I got quiet because at that point those people were no longer safe.

Although I have moved on, the sting is there but it has shown me again the struggles involved with being transparent. It has increased my compassion for those that struggle with feeling safe and secure hour after hour and day after day. It is so important for people to feel safe so that their real self can surface, and it is our job as ministers of the Gospel and friends to help them feel that way. It is our job to usher them into a place of safety. It is our job to accept them the way they are.

It's easy to ridicule. It's easy to be harsh. It's easy to shoot the darts from our mouth but if we do we will never reach people because we won't see them. We will see their shape. We will see their outer surface but we will never see them. We will never be used to get to the depths of their submarine because they will be running silent. My challenge is this - will we be a harbour of safety and support or will we be the torpedo that tries to sink the ship?